f  LIBRARY 

UNIVE'-S'TY   OF 

CALIPOR      A 
I 


EX  L          I          B          R 

Robert  W.  Brofcaw 


No 


Gift  of-- 


FROM  A  PHOTOG-RAPH  TAKEN  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  CIVIL  "WAR. 


THE  LIFE  OF 

ULYSSES   S.    GRANT 

By  J.  T.  HEADLEY 


Author  of  "WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  GENERALS," 
"NAPOLEON  AND  HIS  MARSHALS,"  "  FARRA- 
GUT  AND  OUR  NAVAL  COMMANDERS,"  etc.,  etc. 


WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS 


A.  L.  BURT  COMPANY,     &    *    *    *    * 
*    *    *    *      PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


r.  1385,  BY 
8.  a.  TRKAT. 


£ 


PREFACE. 


IN  a  former  work,  composed  of  biographical 
sketches  of  the  distinguished  generals  that 
shared  the  fortunes  and  the  triumphs  of  General 
Grant,  we  gave  a  brief  outline  of  the  military 
history  of  the  latter.  The  object  of  the  present 
work  is  to  fill  up  that  outline,  and  present  him 
nob  merely  as  a  great  military  leader,  but,  by  a 
careful  collection  and  faithful  narration  of  the 
facts  and  events  that  go  to  make  up  his  history 
from  Lis  boyhood  to  his  obsequies,  to  furnish 
the  reader  with  materials  for  obtaining  a  cor- 
rect estimate  of  his  character  as  a  man,  and 
of  the  work  he  has  done. 

Immediately  after  the  war  things  were  in 
that  state  of  chaos  that  it  was  impossible  to  get 


IV  PREFACE. 

hold  of  those  details  so  necessary  to  the  proper 
understanding  of  them.  These  having  since  come 
to  light,  has  enabled  the  biographer  to  make 
that  history  complete.  Since  then,  too,  his  ad- 
ministration of  the  government  for  two  presi- 
dential terms  has  exhibited  his  qualities  as  a 
statesman,  and  illustrated  still  more  the  patriot- 
ism that  characterized  him  as  a  soldier. 

His  extraordinary  reception  by  the  crowned 
heads  and  distinguished  statesmen  in  the  old 
world,  such  as  was  never  before  given  to  an 
American,  and  the  simple,  unostentatious  manner 
in  which  he  bore  the  distinguished  honors  lav- 
ished on  him,  form  another,  and  not  the  least 
interesting,  portion  of  his  career.  Added  to  all 
this,  his  character  as  a  private  citizen,  the  calm 
though  painful  closing  of  his  eventful  career, 
combine  to  round  up  a  life  that  has  had  more 
to  do  with  the  destiny  of  this  country  than  that 
of  any  other  man  since  Washington. 

Now  that  time  has  quenched  the  fire  of  party 
hatred  and  hushed  the  voice  of  political  passion, 


PREFACE. 


it  becomes  every  American  citizen  to  take  a 
parting  survey  of  the  man  whose  deeds  hold  so 
conspicuous  a  place  in  American  history,  whose 
brow  was  wreathed  with  so  many  laurels  from 
other  lands,  and  whose  demise  has  been  so 
deeply  regretted  throughout  the  world. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Childhood  of  Great  Men — Influence  of  Circumstances — How 
Generals  are  Made — Grant's  Ancestry — Nativity — Early 
Life — Examined  by  a  Phrenologist — His  Love  for  Horses 
— Hides  a  Circus-Pony—Sent  Alone  on  Business  to  Ken- 
tucky— Ingenuity  in  Loading  Heavy  Timber — Resolves  to 
go  to  West  Point 17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Enters  West  Point — How  his  Name  became  Changed — Distin- 
guished for  his  Horsemanship — Graduates — Brevetted  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant — Ordered  West — Serves  under  Taylor  on 
the  Rio  Grande — Battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la 
Palma — Joins  Scott  at  Vera  Cruz — Made  Quartermaster 
and  Serves  also  on  the  Staff — Distinguishes  himself  at 
Molino  del  Rey  and  Chapultepec — Complimented  for  his 
Gallantry — Returns  Home  and  Marries — Stationed  at  De- 
troit and  Sackett's  Harbor — Sent  to  California — to  Oregon 
— Resigns  his  Commission — Settles  on  a  Farm  near  St. 
Louis— Joins  his  Father  in  the  Leather  Business — Break- 
ing out  of  the  War 27 

CHAPTER  IIL 

His  Politics— Raises  a  Company  and  takes  it  to  Springfield — 
He  offers  his  Services  to  the  Government — Made  Colonel 
of  the  21st  Regiment — Serves  in  Missouri — Made  Brigadier- 
General — Makes  Cairo  his  Headquarters — Occupies  Pa- 
ducah — Battle  of  Belmont — Letter  to  his  Father,  giving  an 
Account  of  the  Action — The  Cairo  Expedition — Proposes 
to  Halleck  to  Seize  Fort  Henry— Rude  Treatment  by  Hal- 
leek ;•  41 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Importance  of  the  Capture  of  Fort  Henry— taken  by  Admiral 
Foote — Grant's  Advance  against  Fort  Donelson— Repulse 


vill  CONTEND. 

of  Foote— Desperate  Assault  of  Pillow— Arrival  of  Grant  on 
the  Field — Escape  of  Pillow  and  Floyd — The  Surrender- 
Grant  Breakfasts  with  the  Rebel  General  Buckner — Result 
of  the  Victory — Congratulatory  Order  to  the  Troops — Fall 
of  Nashville— Columbus  Flanked 63 

CHAPTER  V. 

Halleck's  Neglect — Failure  of  his  Attempt  to  Injure  Grant  with 
the  Government — Grant  Ordered  to  Fort  Henry — Halleck 
puts  Smith  in  his  Place — Noble  Conduct  of  Grant — Asks 
to  be  Relieved  from  Command  till  his  Conduct  can  be  In- 
vestigated— Attempts  to  Vindicate  his  Conduct — General 
Morgan  Treated  in  a  Similar  Manner— Magnanimity  of 
Grant  and  Smith  .  83 


CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Army  on  the  Tennessee — Located  at  Pittsburg  Landing 
and  Savannah — Grant  Restored  to  his  Command — Buell 
Ordered  to  Join  him  with  Forty  Thousand  Men — Grant 
Forbidden  to  Give  Battle — Concentration  of  tiie  Enemy  at 
Corinth — Accident  to  Grant  —  Surrender  of  Prentiss — 
Gallantry  of  Sherman — Arrival  of  Grant  on  the  Battle 
Field — The  Army  Driven  back  to  the  River — Arrival  of 
Buell— Grant  Sleeps  on  the  Field— The  Second  Day's  Bat- 
.  tie  —  The  Victory  —  Correspondence  with  Beauregard — 
Causes  of  First  Day's  Defeat  —Outcry  against  Grant . .  97 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Halleck  Takes  Chief  Command — Again  Disgraces  Grant — His 
Calm  Reply — Offers  Halleck  Good  Advice — Evacuation  of 
Corinth — Halleck  Called  to  Washington — Order  respecting 
Fugitive  Slaves— Severe  Order  to  the  People  of  Memphis 
— Battle  of  luka — Of  Corinth — Sends  Sherman  to  Attempt 
the  Capture  of  Vicksburg — Causes  of  his  Failure — Plans 
his  Great  Expedition  against  the  Stronghold 116 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Situation  of  Vicksburg — Attempt  to  get  below  it  by  a  Canal — 
Sanitary  Commission  Aided  by  Grant — His  Solicitude  for 
the  Comfort  of  the  Soldiers— The  Red  River  Route— At- 
tempt on  the  East  Side  of  the  River,  by  Moon  Lake — A 
Fourth  Attempt  by  Steele's  Bayou — Its  'Difficulties— Por- 
ter's Account  of  it  . .  .  128 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Grant  Resolves  to  Run  the  Batteries  with  his  Fleet — Boldness 
of  the  Resolution — Attempt  to  Remove  him — Cooperation 
with  Banks — The  Army  Marches  below  Vicksburg — Run- 
ning the  Batteries — Grand  Gulf  Attacked — Its  Batteries 
Run  —  Grant  Superintends  Everything  —  Battle  of  Port 
Gibson— The  Victory 145 

CHAPTER  X. 

A  Perilous  Resolve — Sherman's  Arrival — Grant  Marches  for 
Jackson — Address  to  his  Troops — His  Little  Son  Accom- 
panies him — McPherson  Defeats  Johnston — Jackson  Evac- 
uated— Grant's  Son  the  First  to  Enter  it — The  Army 
Marches  back  toward  Vicksburg — Battle  of  Champion's 
Hill — Grant  with  his  Boy  under  Fire — Before  Vicksburg 
— Sherman's  Opinion  of  the  Campaign 164 

CHAPTER  XL 

Description  of  the  Enemy's  Works — First  Assault — Bombard- 
ment of  the  City  by  Porter — Second  Assault — Terrific 
Scene — Heroism  of  the  Troops — Gallant  Deed  of  Joseph 
Griffith— The  Chicago  Battery— Mistake  of  McClernand— 
Grant  Deceived  by  it,  and  Orders  the  Assault  Renewed — Its 
Failure — Our  Loss — Grant's  Reasons  for  Making  the  As- 
sault—  Grant  Resolves  on  a  Regular  Siege  —  Pember- 
ton  Asks  for  a  Suspension  of  Hostilities  —  Burial  of  the 
Dead 189 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Perilous  Position  of  the  Army — Want  of  Competent  Engineers 
— Labor  of  Grant — Progress  of  the  Siege — Famine  in  the 
City — They  Hide  in  Caves — Explosion  of  a  Mine — Desper- 
ate Fighting — Pemberton's  Condition  Hopeless 199 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Intei-view  between  Grant  and  Pemberton — Impressive  Scene — 
Terms  Agreed  upon — Rudeness  of  the  Latter  and  his  Offi- 
cers— Grant  Enters  the  City  in  Triumph — The  Soldiers 
Celebrate  the  Fourth  of  July — Grant's  Despatch  to  the 
Government — Parole  and  Departure  of  the  Prisoners — The 
President's  Letter— Summing  up  of  the  Campaign. . .  208 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Employment  of  Negro  Troops — Grant  Threatens  to  Eetaliate  if 
they  are  Abused  when  Captured — Proposes  an  Expedition 
against  Mobile — Wife  Visits  him — Public  Dinner  at  Mem- 
phis— Thrown  from  his  Horse  at  New  Orleans  and  Laid  up 
— Ordered  to  Reinforce  Rosecrans — Leaves  Vicksburg — 
Placed  over  all  the  Troops  in  the  Mississippi  Valley . .  227 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Grant's  Despatch  to  Thomas — Puts  him  in  the  Place  of  Rose- 
crans— Gloomy  Entrance  into  Chattanooga — Positions  of 
the  Two  Armies — Hazen's  Expedition— Seizure  of  Lookout 
Valley  by  Hooker — Burnside  Threatened  at  Knoxville — 
Sherman  Hurried  Forward — Grant  Resolves  to  Attack  the 
Enemy — His  Anxiety  for  Burnside 241 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Anxiety  and  Restlessness  of  Grant — Sherman  Makes  a  Lodg- 
ment on  Missionary  Ridge — Hooker  Carries  Lookout  Moun- 
tain— A  Thrilling  Spectacle — Night  before  the  Battle — 
Sherman's  Attack — Heroism  of  the  Troops— The  Victory 
— Hooker  Attacks  by  Moonlight — Grant's  Despatch  to  Hal- 
leek — Sherman  Sent  to  Relieve  Burnside  —Review  of  the 
Campaign  and  Battle — Letter  from  the  President 256 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Grant  again  Proposes  to  .Capture  Mobile — His  Views  Opposed 
— Congratulatory  Order  to  his  Troops — Congress  Orders  a 
Medal  Struck  for  him — He  Wishes  to  Carry  on  a  Winter 
Campaign,  but  is  Unable — Sends  Sherman  on  a  Raid  into 
Mississippi — Made  Lieut. -General,  and  Ordered  to  Wash- 
ington— His  Reception — His  Commission  Presented  him 
by  the  President — Grandeur  of  his  Position — Maturing  his 
Plans 277 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Way  to  a  Stable  Peace— The  Right  Plan  of  Action— Sketch 
of  Grant's  Plan  of  Campaign — Instructions  to  Sherman — To 
Butler — To  Meade — Army  of  the  Potomac — Its  Route  De- 
cided upon — Strange  Confidence  of  the  South — Not  Shared 
by  Lee,  who  Orders  a  Day  of  Humiliation  and  Prayer- 
Numerical  Strength  of  the  Two  Armies 292 


C6NTENfTS.  « 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  March  Begun — The  Rapidan  Crossed — Lee's  Flank  Turned 
— He  Determines  to  Attack  Grant  in  the  Wilderness — First 
Day's  Battle  of  the  Wilderness — Arrival  of  Longstreet  and 
Burnside — Second  Day's  Battle — Third  Day — Grant  At- 
tempts to  Move  around  Lee's  Left  to  Spottsylvania — The 
Enemy  Arrive  First — Gallant  Charge  of  Hancock — A  Third 
Attempt  to  Get  between  Lee  and  Richmond — Last  Effort 
to  Reach  Richmond  from  the  North — Battle  of  Cold  Har- 
bor— Change  of  Base  to  the  James  River — Attempt  to  Capt- 
ure Petersburg 302 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  Overland  and  Peninsula  Routes  Considered — "  Continuous 
Hammering" — Grant  Distinguished  for  his  Skilful  Man- 
oeuvres— Compared  to  Napoleon — Not  to  Blame  for  the 
Slaughter  in  the  Wilderness,  or  the  Error  at  Cold  Harbor — 
Failure  of  Siegel  and  Butler  to  do  their  Part 821 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Disheartening  Aspect  of  Affairs — Importance  of  Petersburg — 
Hunter  Succeeds  Siegel — Wilson's  Raid — Movement  North 
of  the  James  River — Explosion  of  a  Mine — Defeat  of  Hun- 
ter— Invasion  of  Early — Grant's  Letter  to  Washburn — Ap- 
points Sheridan  Commander  of  all  the  Forces  around 
Washington — Effect  of  Sheridan's  Victories — Grant  At- 
tempts to  get  around  Lee's  Left — Hancock  Attacked — 
Winter  Operations — Atlanta  Reached—  Grant's  Grief  at  the 
Death  of  McPherson — His  Letter  to  the  Grandmother — Is 
Anxious  to  have  Thomas  Attack  Hood — Fort  Fisher — 
Butler's  Disobedience  —  Capture  of  the  Place  —  Directs 
Sherman  to  Come  to  him — Schofield  Ordei'ed  East — Stone- 
man's  Raid — Expedition  against  Mobile — Directions  to 
Thomas  —  Sheridan's  Raid  —  Correspondence  with  Lin- 
coln—  Interview  with  him  and  Sherman  —  Resolves  to 
Move , 335 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Attack  of  Lee — Sheridan's  Orders  Revoked — Grant  Changes 
his  Plan  and  Resolves  "to  Finish  the  Job" — Battle  of 
Five  Forks — The  Victory — Evacuation  of  Richmond  Or- 
dered— Davis  Receives  the  News  in  Church — Terrific  Scene 
in  the  Streets — Blowing-up  the  Rebel  Irou-elads — Burning 


3t!i  OONTENfS. 

of  the  Bridges  and  Warehouses— The  City  Takes 
Weitzel  and  Ewell— Entering  the  City — The  Capitol- square 
at  Night 357 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 

The  Pursuit — Sheridan's  Victory  over  Ewell — Lee  Cut  off 
from  Burkesville — Endeavors  to  reach  Lynchburg — Grant's 
Letter  to  Sherman — Lee  Headed  off  by  Sheridan — Grant 
Addresses  a  Note  to  Lee  Asking  him  to  Surrender — The 
Reply — Lee  Seeks  an  Interview  with  Grant — Description 
of  the  Meeting — The  Surrender  of  the  Army  Agreed  upon 
— Grant  Visits  Washington — Is  Sent  down  to  Eeceive  the 
Surrender  of  Johnston  —  The  Army  Starts  for  Home — 
Grand  Eeview  in  the  Capital 368 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Grant  after  the  War — His  Freedom  from  Animosity  to  the 
South — His  Calm  and  Dispassionate  Judgment — Interferes 
in  Behalf  of  Lee — Opposed,  to  the  Distinctions  Made  in  the 
Amnesty  Proclamation  between  Officers  of  Different  Rank 
— Opposed  to  Military  Government — Intercedes  for  Rebels 
Asking  for  Pardon — His  Reception  at  the  Sanitary  Fair  in 
Chicago — Welcome  at  Galena, — Sent  South  to  Examine 
into  its  Condition — Remonstrates  against  the  Removal  of 
Sheridan — Appointed  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim — His 
Reticence  on  Political  Questions — His  Platform  of  Prin- 
ciples   „ 386 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Grant's  Freedom  from  Party  Prejudice — Vacates  the  War  Office 
— Correspondence  with  the  President — Statements  of  the 
Members  of  the  Cabinet — Contradictory  Statements — Ex- 
planation of  the  Discrepancy — His  Course  Approved — Re- 
fuses to  Sanction  Hancock's  Order  at  New  Orleans — His 
Character — His  Courage — Power  of  Concentration — Tenac- 
ity— Knowledge  of  Detail — On  the  Picket  Line — Anecdote 
of  him — Skill  in  Handling  Large  Armies — Lincoln's  Esti- 
mate of  his  Character — McPherson's . .  .  398 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The  Presidential  Election  of  1868— General  Grant  Candidate 
of  the  Republican  Party — Elected  by  a  Large  Majority — 
Enters  on  his  Duties  in  Trying  Circumstances — The  Four- 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

teenth  and  Fifteenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution — 
Eeorganization  of  the  Southern  States  Completed —San 
Domingo  Petitions  to  be  Annexed  to  the  United  States — 
The  President  Sends  a  Commission  of  Inquiry — The  Ala- 
bama Claims — Referred  to  a  Board  of  Arbitration  Ap- 
pointed by  European  Powers — The  United  States  Awarded 
Fifteen  and  a  H^j:  Millions — Settlement  of  the  Vancouver 
Boundary  Line— Unsettled  State  of  the  South 410 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  Democrats  Nominate  Horace  Greeley,  Editor  of  the  Trib- 
une— Excitement  Caused  by  the  Bitterness  of  the  Cam- 
paign— Grant  Sympathizes  with  the  Angry  Feelings  of 
Neither — His  Election — Modoc  War — His  Action  Right— 
The  Credit  Mobilier— The  Great  Centennial  Exhibition— 
The  Contested  Presidential  Election  —  General  Grant's 
Course  Defended — His  Last  Sound  Advice  to  Congress — 
The  Future  Generation  Alone  can  Do  him  Justice ....  418 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

General  Grant  Seeks  Recreation  in  Foreign  Travel — A  National 
Vessel  Put  at  his  Disposal — Grand  Reception  at  Liverpool 
— Reception  at  London — Dines  with  the  Lord  Mayor — The 
Prince  of  Wales — Invited  to  Windsor  Castle — The  Free- 
dom of  the  City  Conferred  upon  him — Visits  the  King  of 
Belgium — A  Trip  up  the  Rhine — Visits  Wiesbaden,  Frank- 
fort, Hamburg,  Black  Forest — Interlachen — Vale  of  Cha- 
mouni — A  Trip  to  Northern  Italy — Goes  to  Edinburgh — 
Visits  Glasgow — The  Guest  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland — 
Addresses  Working  Men  at  Newcastle — Reception  at  Shef- 
field— His  Visit  to  Paris — A  Brilliant  Dinner — Sails  for 
Naples — Vesuvius — Pompeii — A  Christmas  Dinner — Re- 
ception at  Alexandria — Cairo — The  Pyramids — Ascent  of 
the  Nile 435 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

OS  for  Jerusalem — The  Sacred  Places — Gethsemane — Naz- 
areth— Damascus — Constantinople  —  Presented  with  two 
Arabian  Steeds  —  Greece  —  Reception  by  the  King  — 
Marathon  and  Thermopylae — Rome— The  Coliseum — Au- 
dience of  the  King  and  Pope— Visits  the  Paris  Exhibition 
— The  Hague— Rotterdam  and  Amsterdam— Berlin — Bis- 
marck— Review  of  the  Army — Hamburg — A  Fourth  of  July 
Dinner  — Copenhagen — Gothenburg — Cliristiania  —  Queer 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

Mode  of  Travelling— Beception  at  St.  Petersbnr^— Inter- 
view with  the  Emperor— Saluted  by  the  Russian  Fleet — 
Moscow — Vienna  —  Munich  —  Ulm— Through  Fi  ance  to 
Bordeaux — Its  Wine-cellars — Visits  Spain — Received  by 
the  King  as  Captain -General — Madrid — Portugal— Inter- 
view with  the  King — Cordova — Seville— The  Chapel  where 
Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella  Received  Colnmbus — Re- 
ception at  Gibraltar — Intercourse  with  Lord  Napier— Re- 
turn to  Southampton — Reception  at  Dublin — Insulted  at 
Cork — Reception  at  Deny 457 

CHAPTER  XXXL 

General  Grant  Turns  his  Footsteps  to  the  East — In  a  French 
Steamer  to  Alexandria — By  Rail  to  Suez — Embarks  in  the 
Richmond  for  Bombay — Grand  Reception — Strange-look- 
ing Population — Cave  of  the  Elephants— Journey  to  Delhi 
— Reception  at  Bhurtpoor — Its  Magnificent  Ruins — Delhi 
— Palace  of  the  Grand  Mogul — Jeypoor — Its  Sights — 
Through  Lucknow  to  Allahabad — Reception  at  Benares — 
A  City  of  Priests — Its  Streets  and  Temples — Sight-seeing 
— Reception  at  Calcutta — Novel  Way  of  Cleaning  and 
Watering  Streets — A  Flying  Trip  to  Burmah — Its  Religion 
— Elephants — Their  Use  here — Trip  to  Siam — Anniversary 
of  Lee's  Surrender — Vexatious  Delay — A  Sh^wy  Reception 
— The  Palace  of  the  Prince  Placed  at  Grant  s  Disposal — 
Visits  the  Regent  and  King — Second  Kirg  and  First  King 
— A  Royal  Dinner — Costly  Silver  Service — The  Great  Pa- 
goda    491 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Off  for  Hong-Kong — Received  with  a  Display  of  Fireworks — 
— Reception  on  Board  of  an  American  Man  of -War — Shang- 
hai— Fireworks  and  Torchlight  Procession — A  Brilliant 
Spectacle — Peking — Interview  with  the  Prince  Regent — 
— Description  of  the  City — Reception  at  Tien-Tsin — Inter- 
view with  the  Viceroy  on  the  Chinese  Question  in  Califor- 
nia— The  Loochoo  Islands — A  Singular  Farewell  Dinner — 
A  Visit  to  the  Chinese  Wall— Reception  at  Yeddo 612 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Waiting  for  the  Tokio  at  San  Francisco — Enthusiasm  of  the 
People — Public  Reception  at  the  Mayor's  Office— Trip  to 
Oakland— Reception  by  School-Children—Visits  the  Yo- 
semito  Valley — A  Trip  to  Portland— Visits  {Sacramento— 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Starts  East— Late  Tab r»e-  Capital  of  Nevada— Visits  the 
Virginia  Mine — Grant  Reproves  a  Man  for  his  Profanity — 
At  Omaha— At  Home  iu  Galena— Beception  at  Chicago,  531 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

General  Grant  Returns  to  Philadelphia— Speech  at  Camp-Fire 
of  the  Veterans — Starts  for  Havana — Triumphal  Journey 
through  the  South— Reception  at  Cuba — Sails  for  Vera 
Cruz  — Reaches  Mexico — Reminiscences— Sails  for  Galves- 
ton  — Reception  at  Galvestou — Through  Texas — Reception 
at  New  Orleans—  Speech  at  Vicksburg — Reception  at  Mem- 
phis -Speech  at  Cairo — Visits  the  Home  of  Lincoln — A 
Candidate  for  the  Presidency — Takes  an  Active  Part  iu  the 
Presidential  Campaign — A  Quarter  of  a  Million  Dollars 
Raised  for  Him— Visits  Mexico  Again — A  Banquet  Given 
Him — Views  on  the  Reciprocity  Treaty — His  Strong  Desire 
to  see  Sectional  Feeling  Allayed— His'Defence  of  Fitz  John 
Porter — Will  Take  no  Pension — A  Fall  on  the  Ice — Part- 
nership with  Ward  and  Fish  Loss  of  Fortune— His  Prop- 
erty Turned  Over  to  Vand^rbilt,  Who  Offers  to  Cancel  the 
Debt — Grant's  Refusal — His  Presents  to  be  Deposited  in 
the  Archives  of  the  Government .  542 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Last  Illness— Cancer  of  the  Throat— Commences  the  Task  of 
Writing  his  Memoirs—  Letter  and  Resolutions  of  Sympathy 
— Removed  to  Mt.  McGregor — Death — Burial  at  Riverside 
Park,  New  York— His  Character 563 


LIFE   OF   GRANT. 


CHAPTER  L 

BOYHOOD. 

Childhood  of  Great  Men— Influence  of  Circumstances — How 
Generals  are  made— Grant's  Ancestry— Nativity — Early  Life 
—Apt  at  Figures — Examined  by  a  Phrenologist— His  love  for 
Horses — Early  management  of  them — Bides  a  Circus-Pony — 
Sent  alone  on  business  to  Kentucky — Ingenuity  in  loading 
heavy  timber — Dissatisfied  with  his  position — Besolves  to  go  to 
West  Point 

THERE  is  always  more  or  less  desire  to  know 
something  of  the  early  life  of  great  men,  in  the 
expectation  of  finding  those  traits  or  qualities  of 
character,  in  boyhood,  which  afterwards  rendered 
them  so  distinguished.  Sometimes  the  wish  is  so 
strong  to  find  these  early  revelations,  that  every 
floating  rumor  is  caught  at,  and  accepted  as  true, 
if  it  goes  to  establish  precocity  of  genius.  Thus, 
the  boyhood  of  Napoleon  and  Washington  has 
been  turned  into  a  romance,  in  the  eagerness  to 
show  how,  almost  in  their  infancy,  they  gave 
indications  of  their  former  greatness. 

But  the  truth  is,  circumstances  make  men — 
oot  that  circumstances  can  make  a  strong  man 


20  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

maxim  is  true,  that  "  the  child  is  father  to  the 


man." 


A  child  of  weak  and  vacillating  will  never  be- 
comes a  man  of  great  decision  and  executive 
force ;  nor  one  who  exhibits  a  total  lack  of  perse- 
verance and  energy  in  every  thing  he  undertakes 
be  distinguished  for  marking  out  a  course,  and 
persisting  in  it,  over  all  obstacles,  and  amid  the 
greatest  discouragements.  Those  qualities  of 
character  for  which  Grant  is  so  remarkable, 
he  exhibited  as  a  child.  He  confronted  difficul- 
ties with  the  same  dauntless  resolution  then,  that 
he  did  afterwards. 

His  father,  proudly  loved  to  recall  and  recount 
the  events  in  the  childhood  of  his  distinguished 
son ;  hence,  there  is  no  public  character  of  mod- 
ern times,  of  whose  early  life  so  much  is  known. 

He  was  of  Scotch  descent ;  and  though  much 
effort  has  been  made  to  trace  his  lineage  to  Con- 
necticut, we  can  find  very  little  that  is  reliable, 
beyond  his  great-grandfather,  who  settled  in 
Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  where,  in 
in  1794,  the  father  of  Ulysses  was  born,  and,  five 
years  after,  emigrated  to  Ohio — then  the  far  west 
Here  he  in  a  few  years  died,  leaving  his  son, 
eleven  years  of  age,  an  orphan,  and  nearly  pen- 
niless. There  were  seven  children  in  all,  the  old- 
est of  which  was ,  but  twelve  years  of  age  when 
the  family  was  broken  up.  When  sixteen  years 


ms  BOYHOOD.  51 

old  he  was  apprenticed  to  his  half -brother,  in 
Maysville,  Kentucky,  to  learn  the  tanner's  trade, 
and  served  out  his  time,  and  then  went  back  to 
Ohio,  and  set  up  in  business  for  himself  at 
Kav^nna,  Portage  county.  Compelled  by  illness, 
after  a  few  years  of  toil,  to  abandon  his  trade,  he 
finally  settled  down  again,  for  a  while,  at  Point 
Pleasant.  He  shortly  after  became  acquainted 
with  Miss  Hannah  Simpson,  who  had  emigrated 
from  his  native  county,  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
married  her. 

Ulysses,  their  first  child,  was  born  here,  on  the 
27th  day  of  April,  1822.  The  mother  was  a 
Methodist,  and  trained  her  child  to  respect  re- 
ligion, to  avoid  profanity  and  strife,  and  to  love 
truth,  industry,  and  honesty.  The  father  was 
poor,  and  Ulysses  was  early  taught  to  help  him, 
on  whom  a  rapidly  increasing  family  pressed  hard. 
Thus,  at  eight  years  of  age,  we  find  him  driving 
team  for  him ;  and  at  ten  he  was  accustomed 
to  drive  a  pair  of  horses  alone  from  George- 
town, where  he  lived,  forty  miles,  to  Cincinnati, 
and  bring  back  a  load.  Like  many  farmer-boys, 
he  was  very  fond  of  horses,  and,  though  a  mere 
lad,  showed  great  skill  in  'managing  them,  and 
acquired  a  knack,  no  one  knew  how,  of  breaking 
them  to  pace.  Most  of  the  incidents  of  his  boy- 
hood differ  but  little  from  those  which  make  up 
the  life  of  boys  of  poor  parents,  whose  necessities 


22  LIFE   OP  GRANT. 

compel  them  to  work  instead  of  play.  Some  of 
them,  however,  exhibit  those  traits  which  have 
since  distinguished  him — in  fact,  have  led  to  his 
success.  That  tenacity  of  purpose,  which  no  ob- 
stacles or  dangers  can  shake,  was  illustrated  in  the 
persistency  with  which  he  once  clung  to  a  circus- 
pony  that  he  was  induced  to  mount  in  the  ring. 
The  trained  little  animal  could  not,  with  its  ut- 
most efforts,  shake  him  off;  and  the  ring-master, 
disappointed  to  see  him  succeed,  where  others 
always  failed,  let  loose  a  monkey,  which  sprung 
up  behind  him  and  mounted  on  his  shoulders, 
and  began  to  pull  his  hair.  The  spectators 
shouted,  and  the  pony  struggled  still  more  fran- 
tically to  get  rid  of  its  rider ;  but  Ulysses,  with 
his  face  wearing  the  same  imperturbable  expres- 
sion it  hi  after-years  wore  in  battle,  rode  on,  until 
pony  and  ring-master  had  to  give  it  up. 

That  quiet,  fixed  resolution,  which  was  such  a 
notably  marked  feature  in  his  character,  he  pos- 
sessed when  a  mere  lad.  His  father  possessed 
great  confidence  in  his  ability  to  take  care  of 
himself,  and  once  sent  him,  when  but  twelve  years 
of  age,  to  Louisville,  alone.  We  give  the  incident 
in  his  own  language.  lie  says : 

"  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  have  a  deposition  taken 
there,  to  be  used  in  a  law-suit  in  which  I  was  engaged 
in  the  State  of  Connecticut.  I  had  written  more  than 
once  about  it  to  my  lawyers,  but  could  not  get  the 


SENT  ON  A  JOURNEY.  23 

business  done.  '  I  can  do  it/  said  Ulysses.  So  I  sent 
him  on  the  errand  alone.  Before  he  started  I  gave 
him  an  open  letter  that  he  might  show  the  captain  of 
the  boat,  or  any  one  else,  if  he  should  have  occasion, 
stating  that  he  was  my  son,  and  was  going  to  Louisville 
on  my  business.  Going  down,  he  happened  to  meet  a 
neighbor  with  whom  he  was  acquainted  ;  so  he  had  no 
occasion  to  use  the  letter.  But  when  he  came  on  board 
a  boat,  to  return,  the  captain  asked  him  who  he  was. 
He  told  him  ;  but  the  captain  answered,  '  I  cannot 
take  you  ;  you  may  be  running  away.'  Utysses  then 
produced  my  letter,  which  pat  every  thing  right ;  and 
the  captain  not  only  treated  him  with  great  kindness, 
but  took  so  much  interest  in  him  as  to  invite  him  to  go 
as  far  as  Maysville  with  him,  where  lie  had  relatives 
living,  free  of  expense.  He  brought  back  the  deposi- 
tion with  him,  and  that  enabled  me  to  succeed  in 
making  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of  my  suit."  * 

The  father  remembered  also  the  following  inci- 
dent, of  which  doubtless  similar  may  be  related  of 
hundreds  of  others  who  never  reached  any  emi- 
nence, yet  it  has  a  peculiar  interest  in  the  light  of 
after  events.  He  says,  "  I  will  relate  another  cir- 
cumstance which  I  have  never  mentioned  before, 
which  you  may  use  as  you  think  proper.  He 
was  always  regarded  as  extremely  apt  in  figures. 
When  he  was  ten  years  old  a  distinguished  phre- 
nologist came  along  and  stayed  several  days  in 
the  place.  He  was  frequently  asked  to  examine 
heads  blindfolded.  Among  others,  Ulysses  was 
placed  in  the  chair.  The  phrenologist  felt  his 
head  for  several  minutes  without  saying  any 

*  Written  for  the  "  Ledger. " 


24  LUTE   OF  GRANT. 

thing  ;  at  length,  a  noted  doctor  asked  him  if  the 
boy  had  a  capacity  for  mathematics.  The  phre- 
nologist, after  some  further  examination,  said, 
4  You  need  not  be  surprised  if  you  see  this  boy  nil 
the  presidential  chair  some  time.1 "  * 

Now,  whether  the  opinion  of  the  phrenologist 
was  worth  any  thing  or  not,  or  whether  it  was  a 
mere  piece  of  flattery,  or  a  scientific  opinion,  may 
not,  perhaps,  be  of  much  aonsequence ;  but  one 
thing  is  certain,  if  he  had  not  been  different  from 
the  ordinary  class  of  boys  of  his  age  he  never 
would  have  been  selected  as  a  subject  for  public 
examination.  This  fact  alone  shows  that  he  was 
a  marked  lad,  possessing  certain  positive,  distinct 
qualities  which  distinguished  him  from  others. 
If  it  were  not  so,  the  examination  of  his  head 
would  have  been  without  significance.  Another 
anecdote  is  told  of  him  when  a  little  older,  show- 
ing that  great  self-reliance  which  also  formed  so 
remarkable  a  trait  of  his  manhood.  Sent  once  to 
the  woods  with  a  team  to  bring  some  pieces  of 
timber,  where  his  father  supposed  there  were  work- 
men to  do  the  loading  for  him,  he,  on  his  arrival, 
found  no  one  there.  Instead,  however,  of  return- 
ing with  the  team  and  reporting  the  state  of  af- 
fairs, he  immediately  set  about  performing  the 
herculean  task  himself;  and  unhitching  the  horses, 
he  with  their  help  hauled  up  the  pieces  of  hewn 

*  "The  Hero  Boy,"  by  Kev.  P.  0.  Hoadloy. 


DISSATISFIED  WITH  HIS  LOT.  2£ 

timber  on  a  half-fallen  tree,  that  served  as  an  in* 
clined  plane,  the  ends  projecting  over.  He  then 
backed  the  wagon  under  them,  and  hitching  a 
chain  to  the  ends,  pulled  them  one  after  another 
in,  and  started  for  home  with  his  load. 

The  means  for  securing  that  mental  discipline 
and  culture  necessary  to  fit  him  for  any  position 
of  eminence  were  wanting  in  the  little  town 
where  he  resided.  His  moral  training,  however, 

O" 

was  excellent.  Though  his  parents  were  not  the 
old  rigid  Scotch  Covenanters,  they  had  the  Scotch 
probity  and  prudence,  and  inculcated  right  prin- 
ciples into  the  boy,  and  it  is  said  of  him  what 
can  be  said  of  few  lads,  that  he  was  never  known 
to  tell  a  lie  or  use  a  profane  word. 

He  devoted  himself  to  his  father's  business  of 
tanning  leather  with  reluctance,  preferring  to 
drive  a  team  instead. 

But  while  he  was  thus  growing  a  strong,  broad- 
shouldered  young  man  in  an  obscure  western  vil- 
lage, he  was  not  satisfied  with  his  lot.  Besides, 
his  father  felt  that  he  ought  to  have  the  benefit 
of  a  better  education  than  could  be  obtained  at 
home.  It  was  a  subject  of  much  anxious  thought 
with  him,  for  he  believed  that  his  son  had  capacity 
for  a  more  important  position  than  that  which  the 
trade  of  a  tanner  would  give  him.  But  his  means 
were  limited — the  want  of  money,  which  chains  so 
many  gifted  minds  to  the  mere  effort  to  obtain  a 
2 


26  LIFE    OP   GRANT. 

livelihood  in  the  dull  routine  in  which  they  have 
been  brought  up,  stood  sadly  in  the  way  of  young 
Grant  being  placed  in  the  more  enlarged  sphere 
for  which  he  seemed  to  be  fitted. 

There  was,  however,  one  way  of  securing  an 
education,  and  that  was  by  adopting  the  profes- 
sion of  arms  and  obtaining  the  appointment  of 
Cadet  at  West  Point.  Besides,  Ulysses  had  a 
strong  inclination  for  a  military  life,  and  so  it  was 
decided  to  apply  for  a  situation  in  the  United 
States  Military  Academy. 

Thus,  in  the  early  struggles  of  this  Western 
youth — in  the  discussion  and  balancing  of  various 
plans  and  projects,  fate  was  silently  weaving  the 
first  threads  of  that  web  on  whose  completion 
hung  most  important  destinies. 


CHAPTER  IL 

fflS  MILITARY  EDUCATION  AND  EARLY  SERVICE. 

Enters  West  Point — How  his  Name  became  changed — Application 
to  his  Studies — His  steady  Progress — Distinguished  for  his 
Horsemanship  —  Graduates  —  Brevetted  Second  Lieutenant  — 
Ordered  West — Serves  under  Taylor  on  the  Rio  Grande— Battles 
of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma — Joins  Scott  at  Vera 
Cruz — Made  Quartermaster  and  serves  also  on  the  Staff — Dis- 
tinguishes himself  at  Molino  del  Rey  and  Chapultepec — Com- 
plimented for  his  gallantry — West  Point  Officers  turn  Gunners — 
Value  of  their  early  training  in  the  Field — Returns  home  and 
Marries — Stationed  at  Detroit  and  Sackett's  Harbor — Sent  to 
California — to  Oregon — Made  Captain — Resigns  his  Commis- 
sion— Settles  on  a  Farm  near  St  Louis — Sells  Wood — Anec- 
dotes— Turns  Collector — Poor  Success — Joins  his  Father  in  the 
Leather  business — Breaking  out  of  the  War — West  Point  vin- 
dicated. 

IN  accordance  with  the  plan  finally  adopted,  the 
father  applied  to  Mr.  Morris,  member  of  the  Sen- 
ate from  Ohio,  to  obtain  the  desired  situation  for 
his  son.  But  he  was  unable  to  assist  him,  as  his 
promise  had  already  been  given  to  another  appli- 
cant ;  but  in  stating  the  fact  to  Mr.  Grant,  he  in- 
formed him  that  there  was  a  vacancy  in  the  con- 
gressional district  of  Mr.  Ilamer,  and  advised  him 
to  apply  to  him.  He  did  so,  and  Mr.  Hainer  at 
once  interested  himself  in  the  case,  and  on  his  ap- 
plication Ulysses  received  the  appointment.  Mr 


28  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

Grant  had  another  son  named  Simpson,  the 
mother's  family-name,  and  in  some  way  Mr.  Ha- 
mer  got  the  idea  that  this  was  the  middle  name  of 
Ulysses ;  hence  in  his  application  for  the  appoint- 
ment he  gave  the  name  of  the  applicant  as  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  and  it  was  so  entered  on  the  books  at 
West  Point.  Ulysses  tried  several  times  to  have 
it  changed,  but  at  length  gave  it  up,  and  he  became 
U.  S.  Grant  Thus,  by  mere  accident  he  acquired 
those  initials  which,  according  to  the  conceit  of 
this  or  that  person,  have  been  made  to  stand  for 
so  many  different  things:  Uncle  Sam  Grant, 
United  States  Grant,  Unconditional  Surrender 
Grant. 

It  was  a  trying  position  for  the  awkward, 
rough,  Western  youth  of  eighteen  to  be  thrown 
suddenly  into  the  company  of  a  hundred  young 
men,  many  of  whom  had  received  the  advantages 
of  a  good  education  and  a  wide  intercourse  with 
the  world.  He  saw  at  once  that  he  must  make  up 
for  his  deficiency  by  close  application.  Acquaint- 
ed only  with  the  first  rudiments  of  the  difficult 
mathematics  he  must  become  master  of,  ignorant 
of  French  and  drawing,  he  had  to  begin  at  the  be- 
ginning. Taking  patiently  the  fagging  still  per- 
mitted at  West  Point  during  the  Freshman  year, 
to  the  disgrace  of  the  institution,  he  applied  him- 
self diligently  to  the  arduous  work  before  him. 
His  aptitude  for  mathematics  was  now  of  great 


AT  WEST  POINT.  29 

service  to  him,  and  learning  thoroughly  what  he 
undertook,  he  made  slow  but  steady  progress,  and 
soon  distanced  many  who  with  the  same  applica- 
tion and  energy  would  have  been  far  in  advance  of 
him. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  year,  after  the  examina- 
tion, the  usual  thinning  process  took  place  by 
which  many  were  thrown  back  to  go  over  again 
the  studies  they  so  little  understood ;  but  young 
Grant,  notwithstanding  the  difficulties  he  had 
labored  under,  took  his  place  with  the  successful 
ones  in  the  next  class.  Passing  through  this  year 
in  the  same  studious  way,  he  was  made  in  the 
subsequent  class  of  1841  sergeant  of  battalion. 

In  the  examination  of  this  year  more  cadets 
were  thrown  back,  and  the  Western  boy  found 
himself  in  a  class  dwindled  down  to  nearly  half 
of  its  original  number.  The  last  year  he  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  officer  of  cadets,  and 
finished  his  course  successfully.  Though  not,  like 
the  brilliant  McPherson,  graduating  at  the  head 
of  his  class,  he  stood  No.  twenty-one,  which  was 
above  the  average. 

His  acquisitions  were  of  a  solid,  substantial 
character,  but  in  no  one  thing  did  he  evince  any 
peculiar  excellence,  except  in  horsemanship.  He 
was  a  bold  and  skillful  rider,  and  showed  here  his 
boyish  fondness  for  horses  and  knowledge  of  their 
character,  which  to  this  day  distinguish  him. 


30  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

He  could  talk  "  horse  *  then  as  well  as  now  when 
badgered  by  politicians. 

Only  thirty  of  the  original  number  that  formed 
the  class  with  which  young  Grant  began  his  ca- 
reer graduated  with  him.  Some  of  those  suc- 
cessful ones  he  afterwards  served  with  under  a 
common  flag,  and  still  later  met  them  as  foes  on 
the  battle-field. 

Brcvetted  as  second  lieutenant  of  the  Fourth 
Infantry,  he  now  joined  his  regiment  at  Jefferson 
Barracks,  in  Missouri,  empty  yet  of  any  actual 
command.  He  had  little  to  do  beyond  the  rou- 
tine of  daily  duties,  except  now  and  then  to  ac- 
company an  expedition  along  the  frontiers,  to 
look  after  troublesome  Indians. 

In  1844  his  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  Red 
River,  in  Louisiana.  His  life  here  was  dull  and 
dreary  to  one  ambitious  of  distinction. 

But  the  rumors  of  hostilities  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico,  growing  out  of  the 
boundary  line,  roused  every  young  officer  into 
new  life.  The  right  or  wrong  of  a  war  troubled 
them  but  little,  so  that  the  road  to  distinction  was 
opened  to  them. 

In  1845,  when  Gen.  Taylor  was  sent  to  the 
Rio  Grande  with  an  army  of  occupation,  Grant's 
regiment  formed  part  of  his  force.  In  the  mean- 
time he  was  transferred  to  the  Seventh  regiment, 
but  this  change  was  so  repugnant  to  him  that  he 


HIS   FIRST  BATTLE. 

applied  to  the  government  for  permission  to  remain 
with  his  old  regiment  This  request  was  granted, 
and  in  1840  we  find  him  a  full  second  lieutenant, 
lying  with  his  regiment  at  Matarnoras.  March- 
ing with  Taylor  to  Point  Isabel,  he,  on  the  return 
of  the  little  army  to  relieve  the  sore-pressed  gar- 
rison of  Fort  Brown,  took  his  first  lesson  in  prac- 
tical war,  at  Palo  Alto.  In  this,  his  first  battle, 
he  acted  with  that  settled  coolness  and  prompt- 
ness which  have  always  characterized  him.  The 
shout  of  victory  rolling  over  the  field  had  hardly 
died  away  before  the  sharp,  decisive  action  of 
Resaca  de  la  Palma  completed  the  discomfiture 
of  the  Mexican  army,  arid  it  ficd  over  the  river 
in  confusion.  Then  came  the  long,  joyful  shout 
of  welcome  from  the  manned  ramparts  of  Fort 
Brown,  as  the  liberated  garrison  saw  their  deliv- 
erers marching  gayly  forward  to  the  sound  of 
triumphant  music. 

The  war  had  now  fairly  begun,  and  Taylor  took 
up  his  line  of  march  for  Monterey.  In  the  des- 
perate fight  for  this  place  Grant's  regiment  bore 
its  appropriate  part. 

The  young  soldier  had  now  received  the  full 
baptism  of  fire  necessary  to  his  introduction  into 
the  stern  realities  of  his  profession. 

^'lien  Scott  organized  his  force  for  the  invasion 
of  Mexico,  Grant's  regiment  was  among  the  num- 
ber of  those  he  withdrew  from  Tavlor. 


32  LIFE  OF   GRANT. 

After  the  fall  of  Vera  Cruz,  the  army  started 
for  the  Mexican  capital,  and  Grant  received  the 
appointment  of  quartermaster  of  his  regiment, 
and  at  the  same  time  acted  on  the  staff  of  his 
general. 

The  long  and  toilsome  marches,  the  bloody  bat- 
tles, the  splendid  strategy  of  Scott,  that  make  up 
the  history  of  the  weeks  and  months  that  followed, 
were  an  important  part  of  the  training  of  Grant, 
the  results  of  which  were  to  be  seen  in  future  years. 

At  the  battle  of  Molino  del  Rey  his  gallant 
bearing  won  for  him  promotion  on  the  spot,  as 
first  lieutenant,  though  Congress  did  not  confirm 
the  appointment. 

At  the  battle  of  Chapultepec,  which  followed  in 
a  few  days,  he  had  an  opportunity  to  especially  dis- 
tinguish himself.  Nearly  half  way  up  the  slope  to 
the  foot  of  the  castle's  walls,  stood  a  strong  field- 
work,  so  flanked  by  ravines  and  chasms  that  its 
capture  was  a  most  hazardous  enterprise.  But  it 
must  be  carried  before  the  storming  parties  with 
fascines  and  ladders  could  advance,  and  the  batta- 
lion ordered  to  take  it  marched  boldly  forward, 
under  a  fierce,  withering  fire.  The  ranks 
were  frightfully  thinned  and  more  or  less  dis- 
organized, especially  when  they  got  in  close 
musket- range  of  the  redoubt,  and  success  became 
doubtful.  At  this  critical  moment  Grant  rallied 
a  few  men  of  his  regiment,  and  with  Captain 


GALLANT   CONDUCT.  33 

Brookes,  who  did  the  same  with  that  of  the 
Second  Artillery,  suddenly  wheeled  to  the  left, 
and  enveloping  the  enemy's  right  flank  with 
their  rapid  fire,  rolled  it  back  in  confusion.  Other 
regiments  now  coming  up  to  their  support,  the 
Mexicans  fled,  and  the  redoubt  was  carried  This 
flank  movement  was  a  brilliant  conception  in  the 
heat  of  the  battle,  and  was  carried  out  against 
overwhelming  numbers,  and  in  the  face  of  a  dead- 
ly fire.  It  was  mentioned  in  the  various  reports 
of  the  officers,  and  among  others  by  Col.,  subse- 
quently General  Garland,  who  after  describing  it 
says,  "  I  must  not  omit  to  call  attention  to  Lieut. 
Grant,  who  acquitted  himself  most  nobly  upon 
several  occasions,  under  my  observation."  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  the  details  of  the 
events  in  which  he  "  acquitted  himself  most  nobly" 
But  this  much  is  on  record,  that  in  galloping 
all  steadily  through  storms  of  shot  and  shell  to 
deliver  orders,  and  rallying  a  handful  of  men 
right  under  the  enemy's  guns,  and  heading  the  des- 
perate charge,  "  he  acquitted  himself  most  nobly.'1 
One  of  the  occasions  referred  to  by  Garland,  was 
in  the  battle  of  Molino  del  Hey,  which  occurred  a  few 
days  before  that  of  Chapultepec.  The  thrilling 
scene  was  described  to  us  by  General  Garland  him- 
self. After  the  battery  midway  to  the  mills  on  the 
top  of  the  slope  was  carried  by  the  desperate  charge 

of  Major  Wright,  with  a  handful  of  men,  the  Mex- 
2* 


84  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

lean  forces  were  divided,  and  the  battle  resolved  it 
self  into  two  separate  attacks.  Garland  commanded 
one  of  the  columns,  which  now,  with  Drum's  bat- 
tery of  only  two  pieces  at  its  head,  took  up  its 
desperate  march  for  the  works  on  the  top  of  the 
hilL  The  advance  was  slow  and  toilsome,  for  that 
slight  battery  had  to  contend  against  overwhelm- 
ing odds,  and  its  progress  gauged  that  of  the  col- 
umn. Covering  the  infantry,  it  had  to  make  a  path 
for  it  to  the  walls  of  the  mill.  Garland  watched 
with  the  deepest  anxiety  the  effect  of  its  fire,  for 
should  it  be  silenced  he  would  be  compelled  to 
march  over  the  wreck  of  the  guns,  and  push  the 
uncovered,  naked  head  of  his  column  up  to  the  very 
muzzles  of  the  Mexican  cannon,  or  retreat.  He 
did  not  mean  that  any  contingency  should  force 
him  to  the  latter  alternative,  for  when  the  mo- 
ment of  decision  arrived  he  had  resolved  to  charge 
with  the  bayonet,  over  barricades,  guns,  gunners, 
and  all.  At  length,  weary  with  the  slow  and 
deadly  effort,  he,  while  Drum,  after  a  short  and 
rapid  fire,  was  advancing  his  pieces,  called  a  drum- 
mer and  bade  him  place  his  drum  on  the  ground 
for  a  seat,  on  which  he  might  rest  for  a  moment 
The  instant  after  he  was  seated,  a  grapeshot 
struck  the  cap  from  his  head,  and  grazed  the  skull 
so  closely  as  to  carry  away  his  wig.  Had  he  been 
standing  erect  it  would  have  passed  through  his 
body. 


A   NOBLE   EXAMPLE.  35 

At  length,  under  the  overwhelming  fire  of  the 
enemy's  batteries,  every  gunner  attached  to 
Drum's  pieces  was  killed  or  wounded.  Garland 
then  called  on  the  infantry  to  supply  their  places, 
but  not  a  man  volunteered.  They  had  one  and  all 
toiled  bravely  forward  to  the  spot  where  the  bay- 
onet must  decide  the  conflict,  and  they  would  not 
throw  aside  their  muskets  at  such  a  critical  mo- 
ment. But  those  guns  must  be  served,  for  every 
shot  was  worth  a  whole  regiment  of  men  hi  de- 
molishing the  defences  preparatory  to  the  final  as- 
sault. A  few  young  men  seeing  the  dilemma, 
sprang  forward,  manned  the  pieces,  and  rolled 
them  forward  through  the  iron  hail  till  they  were 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  hostile  batteries, 
and  there  played  on  the  foe  with  a  rapidity  and 
power  nothing  could  withstand.  Each  one  of 
those  gallant  youthful  artillerists  was  a  West 
Point  officer.  Right  there  in  the  blaze  of  the  hos- 
tile guns  they  loaded  and  fired  as  coolly  as  though 
on  parade.  Carried  away  by  such  a  noble  ex- 
ample of  self-devotion,  the  soldiers  charged  with 
a  high  and  ringing  cheer,  and  clearing  every  ob- 
stacle that  opposed  their  progress,  swept  the  de- 
fences with  resistless  power.  No  wonder  Garland 
could  say  of  such  officers,  "  they  acquitted  them- 
selves most  nobly? 

At  the  outset  of  the  campaign  Scott  had  called 
the  West  Point  officers  about  him,  and  told  them 


36  LITE   OF   GRANT. 

that  he  was  entering  on  it  "  with  a  halter  around 
his  neck,"  with  "  the  end  of  it  at  Washington"  and 
said  he,  "I  expect  you,  my  young  friends,  to  get 
this  halter  off  for  me."  Grant  was  one  of  the 
brave  officers  who  did  get  it  off. 

At  length,  Grant  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of 
riding  into  the  grand  plaza  of  the  Mexican  capi- 
tal beside  his  commander,  and  seeing  the  stars 
and  stripes  hoisted  on  its  public  buildings.  That 
young  officer,  standing  proudly  in  the  heart  of  the 
conquered  city,  and  the  tanner's  son  with  his  pole 
and  hook  fishing  out  hides  from  his  father's  vats, 
present  a  striking  contrast,  and  yet  such,  in  some 
form  or  other,  our  republican  institutions  furnish 
every  year,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  old  world. 

The*  siege,  the  toilsome  march,  the  consummate 
strategy  exhibited  in  every  important  movement, 
the  bloody  battles,  furnished  a  school  in  which 
young  Grant  was  trained  for  a  position  of 
which  he  then  little  dreamed.  He  was  one  of 
those  who  in  time  of  war,  if  death  spares  them, 
rise  rapidly  in  rank.  But  the  proclamation  of 
peace  soon  ended  his  dreams  of  preferment,  and 
the  army  was  scattered  through  the  various  posts 
of  our  wide  country. 

Young  Grant  returned  home,  and  in  August 
of  1848  married  a  Miss  Dent,  daughter  of  a  mer- 
chant 'n  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

His  regiment  being  stationed  at  Detroit,  he, 


DKEAET    SERVICE.  37 

after  a  short  furlough,  joined  it  there,  still  hold- 
ing the  position  of  quartermaster.  It  was  after- 
wards transferred  to  Sackett's  Harbor,  on  the 
northern  frontier  of  New  York  State.  Subse- 
quently the  regiment  was  ordered  to  California, 
where,  after  its  arrival,  a  portion  was  detached 
for  duty  in  Oregon,  then  almost  as  much  out  of 
the  country  as  our  new  possession  of  Alaska  now 
is.  Nothing  could  be  more  dreary  than  life  in 
this  remote  region,  far  away  from  his  family — 
through  summer  and  the  long  winter,  day  after 
day,  and  month  after  month,  the  same  monoto- 
nous round  of  duties.  The  morning  reveille — 
the  drill — the  evening  tattoo — these  constitute 
the  excitements  of  a  soldier's  life  on  one  of  our 
frontier  posts.  No  places  of  amusement,  no  so- 
cial circles  in  which  to  spend  an  hour,  no  libraries, 
papers  and  letters  coming  only  at  long  intervals, 
combine  to  make  an  officer's  life  at  one  of  them 
dismal  and  lonely  in  the  extreme.  For  two  years 
Captain  Grant  (for  his  rank  had  been  confirmed), 
was  thus  shut  up  in  that  then  remote,  thinly  set- 
tled territory. 

The  Mexican  war  had  promoted  so  many  young 
officers  that  there  was  no  probability  that  Grant 
would  get  beyond  the  rank  of  captain  till  his  head 
was  gray.  He  had  now  served  more  than  the 
eight  years  required  by  the  government  to  pay  for 
four  years  of  education  at  West  Point,  and  hence 


38  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

felt  at  liberty  to  consult  his  own  interest  in  future, 

v 

Other  officers  had  resigned,  and  were  already  on 
the  fair  road  to  wealth  and  competence,  and  there 
was  no  reason  why  he  should  waste  the  best  part 
of  his  life  in  idleness.  There  seemed  no  prospec* 
of  his  services  in  the  field  ever  being  needed  by 
the  government;  besides,  if  they  were  he  could  vol- 
unteer them.  In  fact,  there  was  every  motive  to 
induce  an  active,  enterprising  young  man  to  leave 
the  army  at  that  time,  and  many,  especially  north 
ern  officers,  did.  Grant  followed  their  example, 
and,  resigning  his  commission,  returned  home  to  try 
his  fortune  in  civil  life.  Taking  a  small  farm  near 
his  father-in-law,  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Louis,  he 
settled  down  to  the  quiet  life  of  a  western  farmer. 
A  person  familiar  with  this  part  of  his  life  says  : 

It  is  well  known  that  when  he  resided  in  Missouri  he 
was  very  poor,  and  lived  in  a  small,  uncomfortable  house, 
cultivating  a  farm  of  a  few  acres.  His  chief  income  was 
derived  by  hauling  wood  to  the  City  of  St.  Louis.  He 
used  to  supply  Hon.  Henry  T.  Blow,  of  that  city,  with 
his  fuel.  Mr.  Blow  was  elected  to  the  Thirty-ninth 
Congress,  and  on  one  occasion  went  with  his  wife  to  one 
of  Gen.  Grant's  popular  receptions.  Mrs.  Blow  won- 
dered if  General  Grant  would  recognize  her  as  an  old 
friend  or  acquaintance,  under  the  different  circum- 
stances of  their  relative  situations  in  life.  Well,  Mrs. 
Blow  had  not  been  long  at  the  General's  before  he 
came  to  her  and  said,  "  Mrs.  Blow,  I  remember  you 
well.  What  great  changes  have  taken  place  since  we 
last  met !  "  "  Yes,  General,"  said  Mrs.  B.,  "  the  war 
is  over."  "  I  did  not  mean  that,"  he  replied  ;  "  I  mean 
with  mysel£  Do  you  recollect  when  I  used  to  supply 


A   LEATHER-DEALER. 

your  husband  with  wood,  and  pile  it  myself,  and  meas- 
ure it  too,  and  go  to  his  office  for  my  pay  ?  "  "  Oh,  yes, 
General,  your  face  was  familiar  in  those  days."  "  Mrs , 
Blow,  those  were  happy  days ;  for  I  was  doing  the  best 
I  could  to  support  my  family." 

He  afterwards  endeavored  to  add  to  his  income 
by  the  collection  of  debts  for  others,  though  dunning 
delinquent  debtors  proved  neither  a  pleasant  nor 
a  profitable  business. 

The  ex-captain  was  not  getting  along  very  pros- 
perously in  his  new  vocation,  and  his  chances  of 
obtaining  even  a  competence  were  very  doubtfuL 
His  father  learning-the  unfavorable  condition  of 
affairs,  wrote  to  him,  proposing  that  he  should 
come  on  to  Illinois  and  assist  in  the  leather  trade. 
It  promised  to  be  far  more  lucrative  than  his  pres- 
ent occupation,  and  he  accepted  the  offer  and  re- 
moved to  Galena.  In  1859,  over  a  modest  store, 
the  sign  of  "Grant  &  Son,  Leather  Dealers," 
could  be  seen.  It  is  said  that  he  did  not  prove  a 
very  active  merchant.  Handling  sides  of  leather 
was  very  different  from  handling  a  sword,  and  chaf- 
fering with  customers  came  rather  hard  after  being 
so  many  years  accustomed  to  command.  Still  the 
business  was  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and  to  all 
human  appearance  his  occupation  was  fixed  for 
life.  He  expected  to  be  leather-dealer,  nothing 
more,  and  his  highest  ambition  could  reach  no 
farther  than  moderate  wealth. 

Here  the  history  of  his  life  might  have  ended 


40  LITE  Of  GRANT. 

but  for  the  civil  war  into  which  we  were  plunged. 
Although  like  McClellan,  and  Sherman,  and 
Hooker,  and  Slocum,  and  others,  he  was  out  of 
the  service,  no  sooner  did  the  country  need  his  ex- 
perience and  aid  than  his  civil  pursuits  were  cast 
aside.  It  is  to  the  everlasting  honor  of  West  Point, 
and  a  complete  refutation  of  the  slanders  uttered 
against  it,  that  though  so  many  officers  had  resigned 
their  commissions,  and  a  portion  of  them  were  on 
the  high  road  to  wealth,  every  one,  to  a  man, 
abandoned  at  once  his  profession  or  business  and 
took  up  his  long-neglected  sword,  and  offered  his 
services  to  his  country.  From  the  counter,  from 
the  law-office,  from  the  engineer's  room,  and  from 
the  school-room,  they  came  swarming  at  her  call 


CHAPTER  IIL 

A   BRIGADIER-GENERAL. 

His  Politics — Raises  a  Company  and  takes  it  to  Springfield  —He  of- 
fers his  services  to  the  Government — His  letter  unanswered — 
Assists  Governor  Yates  in  organizing  the  troops — Made  Colonel 
of  the  21st  Regiment — Endeavors  to  get  on  McClellan's  staff — 
Serves  in  Missouri — Made  Brigadier-General — Amusing  Anec- 
dote of  him — Makes  Cairo  his  Headquarters — Occupies  Padu- 
cah — Proclamation  to  the  People — Correspondence  with  General 
Polk — Battle  of  Belmont — His  congratulatory  Order— Letter 
to  his  Father,  giving  an  account  of  the  Action — The  Cairo  Ex- 
pedition— Order  respecting  it — Retaliatory  Order — Proposes  to 
Halleck  to  seize  Fort  Henry — Rude  treatment  by  the  latter. 

THOUGH  opposed  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
because  he  believed  that  it  would  intensify  the 
hostility  already  existing  between  the  North  and 
South,  he  took  no  active  part  in  politics,  content- 
ing himself  simply  with  voting.  Then,  as  now, 
he  thought  little  of  party — his  country  was  his 
party,  her  welfare  his  only  object,  and  hence  he 
watched  with  the  deepest  anxiety  the  gathering 
elements  of  civil  strife  on  every  side. 

The  news  of  the  fall  of  Fort  Sumter — of  the  insult 
to  the  flag  he  had  so  often  battled  under,  aroused 
all  the  slumbering  fire  of  his  nature,  and  he  im- 
mediately organized  a  company  of  volunteers  arid 
took  it  to  Springfield,  Illinois.  He  then  wrote  a 


42  LIFE    OF   GKANT. 

letter  to  the  adjutant-general,  offering  his  services  to 
his  country,  but  it  was  never  even  acknowledged 

With  that  modesty  which  always  distinguished 
him,  he  did  not,  like  others,  apply  for  a  high  rank, 
but  was  willing  to  serve  in  any  capacity  the  gov- 
ernment might  select.  But  he  was  too  obscure  to 
be  wanted  when  so  many  eminent  civilians  offered 
themselves  as  commanders. 

His  name  was  in  the  meantime  presented  to 
Governor  Yates,  by  a  friend,  who  spoke  of  bis  mil- 
itary education  and  his  gallant  record,  acquired 
during  the  Mexican  war.  The  governor  needing 
some  one  to  assist  him  in  arranging  the  quota  of 
the  State,  that  had  been  called  out,  commissioned 
him  as  adjutant  and  set  him  to  work. 

A  short  time  after,  the  governor,  receiving  a  re- 
quest from  the  President  to  send  on  two  names 
for  the  position  of  brigadier-general,  proposed 
to  Grant  to  send  his.  The  latter,  however,  de- 
clined the  offer,  preferring,  he  said,  to  earn  his 
promotion.  Having  completed  the  work  required 
of  him  to  meet  the  first  call  on  the  State  for  troops, 
he  was  in  the  middle  of  June  commissioned  a 
colonel  of  the  21st  Regiment,  that  its  own  colonel 
could  not  manage.  Below  the  medium  height, 
and  shabby  in  appearance,  the  new  colonel  did  not 
make  a  favorable  impression  on  the  regiment,  but 
the  men  soon  found  they  had  a  character  to  deal 
with  that  would  not  admit  of  trifling.  .  He  was  now 


SERVICES   NOT  WANTED.  43 

at  last,  in  the  army  of  the  Union.  He  had  offered 
his  services  to  the  general  government,  but  no 
notice  was  taken  of  it.  He  had  also  tried  to  get 
on  the  staff  of  McClellan,  but  failed.  Hearing  of 
the  latter's  appointment  as  Major-General  of  Ohio 
Volunteers,  he  modestly  thought,  as  an  old  army 
friend,  he  might  offer  him  a  position  on  his  staff, 
and  went  to  Cincinnati  to  see  him.  He  called  on 
him  twice,  but  finding  him  not  in  either  time,  and 
seeing  a  crowd  of  applicants  around  his  head- 
quarters, he  became  discouraged,  and  returned 
home.  On  what  slight  events  a  man's  destiny 
sometimes  turns !  Had  Grant  obtained  an  inter- 
view with  McClellan,  he  doubtless  would  have  re- 
ceived the  coveted  appointment,  and  shared  that 
commander's  fortune  and  fate,  and  been  lost  to  the 
war. 

However,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  whole  credit 
of  putting  Grant  in  the  field  belongs  to  Governor 
Yates. 

Grant's  regiment  was  first  assigned  to  Pope's 
department  in  Northern  Missouri,  where  his  duty 
was  to  guard  the  Hannibal  &  St.  Joseph  Railroad. 
Other  regiments  were  in  this  region,  and  he  be- 
came for  a  time  acting  brigadier-general.  On  the 
7th  of  August,  1861,  he  received  his  commission 
as  brigadier-general,  for  which  he  was  indebted  to 
E.  B.  Washburn,  a  fellow- townsman,  though 
scarce  an  acquaintance,  who  ever  after,  as  member 


44  LIFE   09   GRANT, 

of  Congress,  stood  nobly  by  him  when  all  others 
seemed  ready  to  desert  him.  He  was  now  sent 
to  Southern  Missouri,  which  was  threatened  by 
Jeff.  Thompson.  He  inarched  to  Ironton  and 
Marble  Creek,  fortifying  and  garrisoning  the  latter 
places,  and  thence  to  Jefferson  City,  which  was  re- 
ported to.be  in  danger. 

The  following  incident,  which  occurred  on  this 
long  and  tedious  march,  illustrates  one  phase  of 
Grant's  character.  It  is  said  that  he  is  as  "  distin- 
guished for  his  eccentric  humor,  as  for  his  skill 
and  bravery."  In  this  case  there  was  a  certain 
grimness  in  the  humor,  for  while  it  raised  a  laugh 
on  one  side,  on  the  other  it  cut  like  a  sword,  for 
:t  administered  a  stern  rebuke. 

A  member  of  his  staff  says  : 

"When  Grant  was  a  brigadier  in  Southeast 
Missouri,  he  commanded  an  expedition  against 
the  rebels  under  Jeff.  Thompson  in  Northeast 
Arkansas.  The  distance  from  the  starting  point 
of  the  expedition  to  the  supposed  rendezvous  of 
the  rebels  was  about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles, 
and  the  greater  portion  of  the  route  lay  through 
a  howling  wilderness.  The  imaginary  suffering 
that  our  soldiers  endured  during  the  first  two  days 
of  their  march  was  enormous.  It  was  impossible 
to  steal  or  'confiscate1  uncultivated  real  estate, 
and  not  a  hog,  or  a  chicken,  or  an  ear  of  corn 
was  anywhere  to  be  seen.  On  the  third  day, 


A   COSTLY    PIE.  45 

however,  affairs  looked  more  hopeful,  for  a  few 
small  specks  of  ground,  in  a  state  of  partial  cul- 
tivation, were  here  and  there  visible.  On  that 
day,  Lieutenant  Wickfield,  of  an  Indiana  cavalry 
regiment,  commanded  the  advance  guard,  consist- 
ing of  eight  mounted  men.  About  noon  he  came 
up  to  a  small  farmhouse,  from  the  outward  ap- 
pearance of  which  he  judged  that  there  might  be 
something  fit  to  eat  inside.  He  halted  his  com- 
pany, dismounted,  and  with  two  second  lieuten- 
ants entered  the  dwelling.  He  knew  that  Grant's 
incipient  fame  had  already  gone  out  through  all 
that  country,  and  it  occurred  to  him  that  by  rep- 
resenting himself  to  be  the  general  he  might 
obtain  the  best  the  house  afforded.  So,  assuming 
a  very  imperative  demeanor,  he  accosted  the  in- 
mates of  the  house,  and  told  them  he  must  have 
something  for  himself  and  staff  to  eat.  They 
desired  to  know  who  he  was,  and  he  told  them 
that  he  was  Brigadier-General  Grant.  At  the 
sound  of  that  name  they  all  flew  around  with 
alarming  alacrity,  and  served  up  about  all  they 
had  in  the  house,  taking  great  pains  all  the  while 
to  make  loud  professions  of  loyalty.  The  lieu- 
tenants ate  as  much  as  they  could  of  the  not 
over-sumptuous  meal,  but  which  was,  neverthe- 
less, good  for  that  country,  and  demanded  what 
was  to  pay.  '  Nothing/  And  they  went  on  their 
way  rejoicing. 


46  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

"In  the  meantime  General  Grant,  who  had 
halted  his  army  a  few  miles  further  back  for  a 
brief  resting  spell,  came  in  sight  of,  and  was 
rather  favorably  impressed  with  the  appearance 
of,  this  same  house.  Hiding  up  to  the  fence  in 
front  of  the  door,  he  desired  to  know  if  they 
would  cook  him  a  meal. 

" 4  No,'  said  a  female,  in  a  gruff  voice;  '  General 
Grant  and  his  staff  have  just  been  here,  and 
eaten  every  thing  hi  the  house  except  one  pump- 
kin pie. 

"  *  Humph,'  murmured  Grant ;  4  what  is  your 
name  ? ' 

"  '  Selvidge,'  replied  the  woman. 

"  Casting  a  half  dollar  in  at  the  door,  he  asked 
if  she  would  keep  that  pie  till  he  sent  an  officer 
for  it ;  to  which  she  replied  that  she  would. 

"  That  evening,  after  the  camping  ground  had 
been  selected,  the  various  regiments  were  notified 
that  there  would  be  a  grand  parade  at  half-past 
six,  for  orders.  Officers  would  see  that  all  their 
men  turned  out,  etc. 

"In  five  minutes  the  camp  was  hi  a  perfect  up- 
roar, and  filled  with  all  sorts  of  rumors.  Some 
thought  the  enemy  were  upon  them,  it  being  so 
unusual  to  have  parades  when  on  a  march. 

"At  half-past  six  the  parade  was  formed,  ten 
columns  deep  and  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
length." 


AN   EXCITING   OBDBB.  47 

After  the  usual  routine  of  ceremonies,  the 
acting  assistant  adjutant-general  read  the  follow- 
ing order : 

HEADQTJABTEBS,  ARMY  IN  THE  FIELD. 

SPECIAL  ORDER  NO.  . 

• 

Lieutenant  Wickfield,  of  the  Indiana  Cavalry,  having 
on  this  day  eaten  every  thing  in  Mrs.  Selvidge's  house, 
at  the  crossing  of  the  Trenton  and  Pocahontas  and 
Black  River  and  Cape  Girardeau  roads,  except  one 
pumpkin-pie,  Lieutenant  Wickfield  is  hereby  ordered 
to  return  with  an  escort  of  one  hundred  cavalry,  and 
eat  that  pie  also.  II.  S.  GRANT, 

Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

One  can  scarcely  imagine  the  astonishment 
which  the  promulgation  of  this  order  caused, 
made  as  it  was  with  all  the  seriousness  of  one 
just  preceding  a  battle,  nor  of  the  uproarious 
merriment  and  laughter  of  the  soldiers  as  the 
true  state  of  the  case  became  known.  Shout 
after  shout  rolled  over  the  field  as  the  astounded 
lieutenant  ordered  up  his  escort  and  trotted  out 
of  camp.  There  was  no  evading  the  order.  Back 
along  the  road  he  had  just  travelled  so  wearily,  he 
made  his  way  to  the  widow's  house,  and  deliber- 
ately ordered  out  the  solitary  pie  he  had  been  so 
kind  as  to  leave  for  his  general  a  little  while  before. 

It  was  carried  off  as  a  grand  joke,  yet  there 
was  a  sting  to  it.  It  required  no  explana- 
tion. Each  officer  learned  two  things  by  it  he 
would  not  be  apt  soon  to  forget  First,  not  to 


48  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

forage  right  in  front  of  his  commander  without 
any  reference  to  his  needs ;  second,  to  be  careful 
how  he  assumed  his  character  and  authority  any. 
where.  The  last  was  doubtless  the  chief  lesson 
Grant  designed  to  inculcate.  Reports  and  slan- 
ders of  all  kinds  against  a  general  who  was  com- 
pelled to  march  through  a  divided  country  were 
rife  enough,  without  having  any  act  that  a  subor- 
dinate might  commit  charged  to  him.  We  ven- 
ture to  say  Lieutenant  Wickfield  has  never  eaten 
a  pie  since,  without  thinking  of  that  one  which 
required  an  escort  of  a  hundred  men  to  dispose  of. 
The  district  of  Southeastern  Missouri  was 
placed  under  his  command  on  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber, by  Fremont,  who  succeeded  Pope,  and  in- 
cluded such  portions  on  the  borders  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee  as  he  might  deem  best  to  occupy. 
His  headquarters  were  at  Cairo,  a  most  important 
point  strategetically,  for  here  the  four  rivers,  Mis- 
sissippi, Ohio,  Cumberland,  and  Tennessee,  unite. 
The  two  first  kept  open  his  own  communications, 
and  the  two  latter  carried  supplies  to  the  enemy. 
Grant  early  saw  how  vital  the  occupation  and  hold- 
ing of  it  was.  Kentucky  claimed  to  be  neutral 
territory,  thereby  forbidding  the  establishment  of 
any  military  post  within  her  boundaries ;  yet  Co- 
lumbus and  Hickman,  both  in  the  limits  of  the 
State,  and  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississip- 
pi, had  been  seized  and  held  by  the  rebels,  as  well 


OCCUPIES    PADUCAH.  49 

as  the  central  position  of  Bowling  Green.  Grant 
felt  that  it  would  not  do  to  regard  a  neutrality 
which  allowed  the  enemy  to  seize  all  the  import- 
ant points  in  the  State ;  and  Paducah,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Tennessee,  commanding  the  naviga- 
tion both  of  it  and  the  Ohio,  being  a  most  im- 
portant place,  he  determined  to  seize  it  before  it 
fell  into  their  hands.  Delay  was  dangerous,  and 
if  he  waited  until  the  vexed  question  of  occupying 
neutral  territory  was  thoroughly  discussed,  it 
might  be  too  late.  He  did  not  even  apply  for  per- 
mission to  his  immediate  superior,  Fremont,  but 
simply  notified  him  that  he  was  going  to  move  at 
once,  unless  he  received  a  telegram  to  the  contrary. 
He  did  not  delay  a  moment  longer  than  neces- 
sary, but  on  the  6th  of  September  despatched  a 
steamer  loaded  with  troops  to  occupy  it.  To 
make  it  as  little  offensive  as  possible,  he  issued 
the  following  proclamation  to  the  people,  explana- 
tory of  the  motives  that  governed  him : 

PADUCAH,  KT.,  September  6, 1861. 
To  tfo  Citizens  of  Paducah: 

I  am  come  among  yon,  not  as  an  enemy,  bnt  as  your 
fellow-citizen,  ^"ot  to  maltreat  you,  nor  annoy  you, 
but  to  respect  and  enforce  the  rights  of  all  loyal  citizens. 
An  enemy  in  rebellion  against  our  common  Govern- 
ment has  taken  possession  of,  and  planted  his  guns  upo& 
the  soil  of  Kentucky,  and  fired  upon  you.  Columbus 
and  Hickman  are  in  his  hands.  He  is  moving  upon 
your  city.  I  am  here  to  defend  you  against  this  enemy, 


50  LIFE    OF   GBA5T. 

to  assist  the  authority  and  sovereignty^  your  Govern- 
ment. /  have  nothing  to  do  with  opinions,  and  shall 
deal  only  with  armed  rebellion,  and  its  aiders  and  abet- 
tors, i  on  can  pursne  your  usual  avocations  without 
fear.  The  strong  arm  of  the  Government  is  here  to  pro- 
tect its  friends  and  punish  its  enemies.  Whenever  it  is 
manifest  that  you  are  able  to  defend  yourselves,  and 
maintain  the  authority  of  the  Government,  and  protect 
the  rights  of  loyal  citizens,  I  shall  withdraw  the  forces 
under  my  command.  U.  S.  GRAJNT, 

Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

The  legislature  of  the  State  remonstrated  against 
the  seizure  of  Paducah  as  an  act  of  aggression,  and 
a  correspondence  followed  between  it  and  Grant, 
in  which  the  latter  vindicated  his  course  in  a 
courteous  manner,  and  quietly  held  the  post. 

The  next  month  he  received  a  communication 
from  Gen.  Polk,  proposing  an  exchange  of  pris- 
oners— several  having  been  taken  in  portions  of 
his  department.  To  this  he  sent  the  following 
short  reply: 

HKA.DQUABTEKS  DEPT.  SOUTHEAST  MISSOUBI, 

OAIEO,  October  11,  1861. 
General: 

Yours  of  this  date  is  just  received.  In  regard  to  an 
exchange  of  prisoners,  as  proposed,  I  can  of  my  own 
accordance  make  none.  I  recognize  no  "  Southern 
Confederacy  "  myself,  but  will  communicate  with  higher 
authorities  for  their  views.  Should  I  not  be  sustained 
I  will  find  means  of  communicating  with  you. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding, 

To  Major-Qcrural  Poflk,  Columbus,  Ky. 


BELMONT.  51 

During  this  month  Col.  Plummer  obtained  a 
victory  over  Jeff.  Thompson  in  Southeast  Mis- 
souri, which  brought  out  a  highly  complimentary 
order  from  Grant. 

Columbus,  only  a  few  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Ohio,  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  defences 
erected  by  the  enemy  along  the  Mississippi  to  pre- 
vent its  navigation  by  our  steamers,  and  the  whole 
country,  especially  the  Northwest,  were  clamorous 
for  its  capture.  In  the  meantime,  word  having 
been  received  that  troops  were  about  being  moved 
from  this  point  to  cooperate  with  Price  in  Mis- 
souri,  Grant  was  ordered  to  make  a  demonstration 
against  Columbus  to  prevent  it. 

The  enemy  at  this  time  had  a  large  force  under 
Polk  at  Columbus,  also  a  camp  and  garrison  op- 
posite, at  Belmont.  Grant,  finding  his  force  too 
small  to  attack  the  former  place,  determined  to 
break  up  the  camp  at  the  latter.  In  order  not  to 
be  overwhelmed  by  the  garrison  at  Columbus,  he 
asked  Gen.  Smith,  commanding  at  Paducah,  to 
make  a  demonstration  against  the  former  place, 
which  he  did,  by  sending  a  small  force,  that  was 
not  to  advance  nearer,  however,  than  twelve  or 
fifteen  miles.  He  also  despatched  another  detach- 
ment on  the  Kentucky  side,  for  the  same  purpose, 
with  directions  not  to  advance  nearer  than  Elli- 
cott's  Mills,  twelve  miles  from  Columbus. 

The  force  under  his  own  command  was  two 


52  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty  strong.  These 
were  embarked  in  transports  on  the  evening  of  the 
6th  of  November,  and  moved  down  to  the  foot  of 
Island  No.  Ten,  within  eleven  miles  of  Columbus, 
where  they  stopped  for  the  night,  and  tied  up  to  the 
Kentucky  shore.  At  daylight  next  morning  the 
transports  passed  quietly  down-stream  till  almost 
within  range  of  the  rebel  guns,  when  they  were 
quickly  pushed  to  the  Missouri  shore,  and  the 
troops  landed.  The  gunboats  Tyler  and  Lexing 
ton  accompanied  them. 

The  cannon  were  hauled  by  hand  up  the  steep 
banks  amid  dropping  shot  and  shell  from  the 
rebel  encampment,  from  which,  as  it  occupied  an 
elevated  position,  Grant's  movements  could  be  dis- 
tinctly seen. 

The  troops,  after  landing,  passed  through  some 
cornfields  and  halted,  preparatory  to  an  advance. 
Colonel  Buford  was  ordered  to  make  a  detour  to 
the  right,  and  come  down  on  the  rebel  camp  in 
that  direction.  The  main  army  then  moved  for- 
ward till  it  arrived  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the 
abatis  that  the  rebels  had  piled  in  their  front 
This  was  composed  of  trees,  that  for  several  hun- 
dred yards  had  been  felled  with  their  tops  pointing 
outward,  and  the  limbs  sharpened,  so  that  a  dense 
breastwork  of  points  confronted  any  force  advanc- 
ing down  the  river.  The  gunboats  in  the  mean- 
time were  engaging  the  batteries  at  Columbus, 


THE   BATTLE.  53 

As  the  columns  advanced,  the  dropping  fire  of 
the  skirmishers  showed  that  the  enemy  had  been 
met,  and  was  determined  to  dispute  every  inch  of 
ground  to  their  encampment.  The  Thirtieth  and 
Thirty-first  having  been  sent  forward  to  relieve 
the  skirmishers,  a  spirited  action  was  commenced, 
which  lasted  for  half  an  hour,  in  which  our  ranks 
were  thrown  into  disorder.  Colonels  Foulke  and 
Logan,  however,  soon  rallied  them,  and  drove  the 
enemy  back  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  where,  being 
reinforced,  they  attempted  to  turn  McClernand's 
left  flank.  Being  defeated  in  this  by  a  prompt 
movement  of  Colonel  Logan,  and  suddenly  swept 
by  a  fierce  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry,  they  be- 
gan to  show  signs  of  wavering.  Foulke  and  Lo- 
gan, sword  in  hand,  shouted  to  their  men,  urging 
them  forward  by  stirring  appeals,  which  were  an- 
swered with  cheers,  and  these  raw  troops  stood  up 
like  veterans  to  their  work. 

The  officers,  however,  had  to  set  the  example  of 
exposure,  for  now,  added  to  the  fire  in  front,  the 
batteries  at  Columbus,  which  had  ceased  firing 
at  the  gunboats,  sent  their  huge  projectiles  crash- 
ing through  the  tree-tops  overhead.  Grant  and 
McClernand  were  both  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
exposing  themselves  like  the  commonest  soldier. 
The  latter,  while  leading  a  gallant  charge,  received 
a  ball  in  his  holster  ;  and  the  horse  of  Grant  was 
killed  under  him.  While  this  struggle  was  going 


54  LIFE   OF   GBANT. 

on,  a  tremendous  fire  from  the  Twenty-seventh 
broke  over  the  woods,  to  the  right  and  rear  of  the 
rebel  encampment  The  other  regiments  having 
now  worked  their  way  into  line  through  the  brush- 
wood, the  whole  closed  sternly  up  on  three  sides 
of  the  abatis  at  once,  and  sweeping  rapidly  for- 
ward, drove  the  enemy  pell-mell  through  it.  Fol- 
lowing close  on  their  heels,  our  excited  troops 
dashed  through  and  over  with  a  cheer.  The  sight 
of  the  Twenty-seventh  in  the  open  space  beyond 
roused  all  their  ardor,  and  they,  too,  soon  stood 
in  the  clear  ground  around  the  camp.  The  artil- 
lery opened  on  the  tents,  not  three  hundred  yards 
distant,  and  the  rebels  broke  for  the  river  and  the 
woods  like  a  flock  of  frightened  sheep. 

The  torch  was  then  applied  to  the  tents  and  bag- 
gage, and  in  a  moment  the  spot  was  wrapt  in  flames 
and  smoke.  The  enraged  enemy  across  the  river  at 
Columbus  now  turned  their  batteries  on  the  smok- 
ing camp,  and  soon  shot  and  shell  were  hurtling 
through  the  air  on  every  side.  Grant  saw  at  once 
that  he  could  not  stay  here ;  and  to  make  matters 
worse,  he  was  informed  that  the  rebels  had  thrown 
a  large  force  across  the  river,  directly  in  his  rear, 
and  between  him  and  his  transports. 

Without  showing  the  least  surprise  or  anxiety, 
he  quietly  said,  "  Well,  if  that  is  so,  we  must  cut 
our  way  out  as  we  cut  our  way  in."  Soon  after, 
in  reply  to  an  expression  of  anxiety  as  to  the  re« 


CONGRATULATORY   OBDEB.  55 

suit,  by  an  officer,  he  said,  "  We  have  whipped 
them  once,  and  can  whip  them  again."  Order- 
ing the  artillery  to  the  front,  he  gave  the  com- 
mand to  advance,  and  his  little  army  moved 
straight  on  the  astonished  enemy,  and  reached 
the  transports  waiting  to  receive  them. 

It  was  a  spirited  contest  The  Seventh  Iowa 
especially  fought  gallantly,  losing  their  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  major,  the  colonel  himself  being 
wounded.  Our  total  loss  was  about  five  hundred, 
while  that  of  the  rebels  was  nearly  a  thousand — a 
great  disparity,  especially  when  it  is  considered 
that  we  were  the  attacking  party,  and  the  former 
fought  a  part  of  the  time  behind  defences.  Two 
guns  were  brought  off,  and  two  more  spiked,  and 
some  battle-flags  captured,  together  with  many 
prisoners.  Grant  was  delighted  with  the  conduct 
of  his  men,  and  issued  the  following  congratula- 
tory order  to  his  troops,  the  first  he  ever  penned 
after  a  battle : 


HEADQUARTKKS  DISTRICT,  S.  0.,  Mo., ) 
OAIEO,  November  8, 1861.         J 

The  General  commanding  this  Military  District  re- 
turns his  thanks  to  the  troops  under  his  command  at  the 
battle  of  Belmont  on  yesterday. 

It  has  been  his  fortune  to  have  been  in  all  the  battles 
fought  in  Mexico  by  Generals  Scott  and  Taylor,  except 
Buena  Yista,  and  he  never  saw  one  more  hotly  contested, 
or  where  the  troops  behaved  with  more  gallantry. 

Such  courage  will  insure  victory  wherever  our  flag 


56  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

may  be  borne  and  protected  by  such  a  class  of  men  T« 
the  brave  men  who  fell,  the  sympathy  of  the  country  is 
due,  and  will  be  manifested  in  a  manner  unmistakable 

U.  S.  GKANT, 
Brigadier-General  Commanding. 

Though  this  action  was  gallantly  fought,  it  in- 
jured, rather  than  helped,  the  opening  prospects  of 
Grant.  It  being  generally  thought  that  the  object 
of  the  expedition  was  to  take  Columbus,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  total  failure,  and  so  reported  by  the 
rebels. 

Since  the  war  he  has  written  a  full  and  com- 
plete report  of  the  whole  movement,  and  request- 
ed it  to  be  substituted  for  the  one  that  he  made  at 
the  time.  In  this,  which  is  given  in  the  Appen- 
dix, he  shows  that  he  simply  executed  orders  ;  so 
that  whatever  blame  may  attach  to  the  expedition, 
it  does  not  rest  on  him. 

More  interesting,  however,  than  this  report,  is 
the  following  private  letter  to  his  father,  giving 
an  account  of  the  battle,  and  showing  his  feelings 
at  its  result.  He  says  that  he  can  assert  "  with 
great  gratification,  that  every  man,  without  a  single 
exception,  set  an  example  to  their  comrades  that 
inspired  a  confidence  that  will  always  give  victory 
when  there  is  the  slightest  possibility  of  gaining 
one.  I  feel  truly  proud  to  command  such  men. 

"  From  here  we  fought  our  way  from  tree  to 
tree,  through  the  woods  to  Belmont,  about  two 


LETTER   TO   HIS   FATHER.  57 

and  a  half  miles,  the  enemy  contesting  every  foot  of 
ground.  Here  the  enemy  had  strengthened  their 
position  by  felling  the  trees  for  two  or  three  hun- 
dred yards,  and  sharpening  their  limbs,  making  a 
sort  of  abatis.  Our  men  charged  through,  mak- 
ing the  victory  complete,  giving  us  possession  of 
their  camp  and  garrison  equipage,  artillery,  and 
every  thing  else. 

"  We  got  a  great  many  prisoners.  The  major- 
ity, however,  succeeded  in  getting  aboard  their 
steamers  and  pushing  across  the  river.  We 
burned  every  thing  possible,  and  started  back, 
having  accomplished  all  that  we  went  for,  and 
even  more.  Belmont  is  entirely  covered  by  the 
batteries  from  Columbus,  and  is  worth  nothing  as 
a  military  position — cannot  be  held  without  Co- 
lumbus. 

"  The  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  prevent 
the  enemy  from  sending  a  force  into  Missouri  to 
cut  off  troops  I  had  sent  there  for  a  special  pur- 
pose, and  to  prevent  re-enforcing  Price. 

"  Besides  being  well  fortified  at  Columbus,  their 
number  far  exceeded  ours,  and  it  would  have  been 
folly  to  have  attacked  them.  We  found  the  Con- 
federates well  armed,  and  brave.  On  our  return, 
stragglers,  that  had  been  left  in  our  rear  (now 
front),  fired  into  us,  and  more  recrossed  the  river 
and  gave  us  battle  for  a  full  mile,  and  afterward 
at  the  boats,  when  we  were  embarking. 


58  UFB   OF   GRANT. 

"There  was  no  hasty  retreating  or  i mining 
away.  Taking  into  account  the  object  of  the  ex- 
pedition, the  victory  was  completa  It  has  given 
confidence  in  the  officers  and  men  of  this  command, 
that  will  enable  us  to  lead  them  in  any  future  ac- 
tion without  fear  of  the  result  General  McCler- 
nand  (who,  by  the  way,  acted  with  great  coolness 
and  courage  throughout)  and  myself  each  had 
our  horses  shot  under  us.  Most  of  the  field-offi- 
cers met  with  the  same  loss,  besides  one  third  of 
them  being  themselves  killed  or  wounded.  As 
near  as  can  be  ascertained,  our  loss  was  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  killed  and  wounded." 

This  battle  took  place  on  the  7th  of  November. 
Four  days  after,  General  Halleck  superseded  Fre- 
mont in  the  Western  Department,  and  Grant's 
district  was  enlarged.  lie  now  began  to  assemble 
troops  at  Paducah,  preparatory  to  some  general 
movement  of  the  forces  under  his  command.  It 
was  generally  supposed  its  objective  point  was 
Columbus,  and  great  hopes  were  entertained  that 
this  stronghold,  whose  occupation  by  the  enemy 
was  a  source  of  such  constant  irritation  to  the 
West,  would  be  captured. 

The  Cairo  expedition,  as  it  was  called,  com- 
menced in  the  very  heart  of  winter,  and  three 
grand  columns,  under  Paine,  McClernand,  and  C. 
F.  Smith,  in  all  nineteen  regiments  of  infantry, 
six  of  cavalry,  and  seven  batteries,  moved  off  intc 


A   NOBLE   ORDER.  59 

the  interior.  McClernand,  with  some  five  thou- 
sand men,  made  a  march  of  seventy-five  miles 
over  ice,  and  through  snow  and  mud,  while  the 
cavalry  marched  a  hundred  and  forty,  and  came 
back  again,  reporting  that  some  new  roads  had 
been  discovered,  foolish  reports  exploded,  the  in- 
habitants impressed  with  our  military  strength, 
&c.,  and  that  apparently  was  all.  The  movement, 
however,  was  in  accordance  with  Halleck's  order, 
and  the  object  of  it  was  to  prevent  the  enemy 
from  sending  reinforcements  to  Buckner  at  Bowl- 
ing Green. 

An  order,  designed  to  guide  the  conduct  of 
the  troops  in  this  expedition,  reveals  that  even 
balance  of  Grant's  judgment  and  feelings  under  all 
circumstances  which  forms  one  of  the  brightest 
traits  in  his  character.  Swayed  neither  by  false 
logic  nor  carried  away  by  passion,  he  sees  the 
right,  and  has  the  firmness  to  pursue  it. 

He  says,  u  Disgrace  having  been  brought  upon 
our  brave  fellows  by  the  bad  conduct  of  some  of 
their  members,  showing,  on  all  occasions,  when 
passing  through  territory  occupied  by  sympathiz- 
ers of  the  enemy,  a  total  disregard  of  the  rights  of 
citizens,  and  being  guilty  of  the  wanton  destruc- 
tion of  private  property,  the  General  Command- 
ing desires  and  intends  to  enforce  a  change  in  this 
respect"  ***** 

"It  is  ordered  that  the  severest  punishment 


60  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

be  inflicted  upon  every  soldier  who  is  guilty  of 
taking  or  destroying  private  property,  and  any 
commissioned  oiiicer  guilty  of  like  conduct,  or  of 
countenancing  it,  shall  be  deprived  of  his  sword, 
and  expelled  from  the  army,  not  to  be  permitted 
to  return,"  &c. 

It  will  stand  recorded  to  his  enduring  honor, 
that,  amid  all  the  exasperation,  public  clamor, 
and  private  temptations,  that  carried  so  many  be- 
yond the  limits  and  laws  of  civilized  warfare,  he 
maintained  a  character  above  reproach.  Many 
of  our  officers  were  guilty  of  atrocious  violations 
of  private  property,  whose  conduct,  for  the  time, 
escaped  public  condemnation ;  but  when  the  cha- 
otic state  of  affairs  then  existing  gave  place  to 
calm  reflection  and  Christian  feeling,  they  must 
take  their  place  in  history  with  those  epauletted 
marauders  that  disgraced  the  English  flag,  both  in 
our  first  and  second  wars  with  England. 

Grant's  record  in  this  respect  is  untarnished 
What  he  was  at  first,  he  continued  to  be  to  the 
last,  temperate  in  judgment,  dispassionate  in  feel- 
ing, and  forbearing  in  the  hour  of  victory. 

But  while  he  could  be  thus  forbearing,  and 
show  himself  superior  to  petty  revenge  and  a 
false  public  sentiment,  he  could  be  severe  and  re- 
lentless in  the  discharge  of  duty,  no  matter  what 
suffering  it  might  cause,  or  charge  of  cruelty  it 
might  provoke. 


A   SEVERE   OBDER.  61 

Hearing  that  his  pickets  were  shot  by  the  in 
habitants  who  sympathized  with  the  rebels,  and 
yet  whose  property  he  was  protecting,  he  issued 
the  following  order : 

HEADQTTABTEBS,  OAIEO,  January  llf  1862. 
Brigadier- General  Paine,  EircTa  Point: 

I  understand  that  four  of  our  pickets  were  shot  this 
morning.  If  this  is  so,  and  appearances  indicate  that 
the  assassins  were  citizens,  not  regularly  organized  in 
the  rebel  army,  the  whole  country  should  be  cleared 
out  for  six  miles  around,  and  word  given  that  all  citi 
zens  making  their  appearance  within  those  limits  are 
liable  to  be  shot. 

To  execute  this,  patrols  should  be  sent  out  in  all  di- 
rections, and  bring  into  camp,  at  Bird's  Point,  all  citi- 
zens, together  with  their  subsistence,  and  require  them 
to  remain,  under  the  penalty  of  death  and  destruction 
of  their  property,  until  properly  relieved. 

Let  no  harm  befall  these  people,  if  they  quietly  sub- 
mit ;  but  bring  them  in  and  place  them  in  camp  below 
the  breastwork,  and  have  them  properly  guarded. 

The  intention  is  not  to  make  political  prisoners  of 
these  people,  but  to  cut  off  a  dangerous  class  of  spies. 

This  applies  to  all  classes  and  conditions,  age  and 
Bex.  If,  however,  women  and  children  prefer  other 
protection  than  we  can  afford  them,  they  may  be  allowed 
to  retire  beyond  the  limits  indicated — not  to  re-turn  un- 
til authorized. 

By  order  of  TL  S.  GRANT, 

Brig.-Gen.  Commanding. 

There  is  the  true  Cromwellian  ring  in  this  order. 
A  Carlyle  would  say,  here  is  no  "  rosewater  sur- 
gery." Those  who  have  mistaken  his  leniency  for 


62  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

mawkish  sensibility,  or  any  sympathy  with  those 
who  are  warring  against  a  common  government, 
may  read  this  with  much  profit  to  themselves.  It 
is  worth  pondering  upon.  This  man,  so  quiet 
and  moderate,  and  careful  of  the  wants  and  rights 
of  peaceable  citizens,  can  strike  with  the  relentless 
severity  of  a  Nero  when  outraged  justice  and  hu- 
manity require  it.  His  heart,  ever  open  to  kind- 
ly feelings,  delights  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  war, 
but  it  does  not  prevent  his  grasp  from  tightening 
like  steel  on  the  throat  of  the  guilty  who  abuse 
his  forbearance,  and  mock  his  authority. 

Smith,  one  of  the  commanders  of  the  Cairo  Ex- 
pedition, reporting  on  his  return  that  Fort  Henry, 
on  the  Tennessee  river,  could  be  easily  taken, 
Grant  immediately  forwarded  this  information  to 
Halleck,  and  soon  after  asked  permission  in  per- 
son to  attack  it.  Halleck,  however,  treated  the 
proposition  with  contempt  and  positive  rudeness, 
which  took  Grant  by  surprise.  It  is  difficult  to 
determine  what  motive  prompted  this  treatment, 
for  the  plan  to  capture  this  fort  had  been  thor- 
oughly discussed  the  fall  before,  hi  Washington, 
previous  to  the  departure  of  Buell  for  the  west. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FORTS  HENRY  AND  DONELSON. 

Importance  of  their  Capture — Grant  commands  the  land  forces  in 
the  Expedition  against  them — Fort  Henry  taken  by  Admiral 
Foote — Grant's  advance  against  Fort  Donelson — Repulse  of 
Foote — Investment  of  the  place — Description  of  its  defences — 
Desperate  Assault  of  Pillow — The  Battle— Arrival  of  Grant  on 
the  Field — His  sublime  determination — Assault  of  the  enemy's 
works — Smith's  Success — The  Night-Consultation  of  the  Rebel 
Officers — Escape  of  Pillow  and  Floyd — Correspondence  between 
Grant  and  Buckner— The  Surrender — Grant  breakfasts  with 
the  Rebel  General  —Result  of  the  Victory—  Enthusiasm  of  the 
People — Congratulatory  Order  to  the  Troops — Fall  of  Nash- 
ville— Consternation  and  Flight  of  the  People — Violence  of  the 
Mob — Columbus  Flanked. 

IT  has  been  supposed  that  the  movement  against 
Forts  Henry  and  Donelson  originated  out  West 
— some  giving  Halleck,  others  Grant  and  Foote, 
the  credit  of  it ;  but  it  had  its  origin  much  farther 
back  than  the  suggestions  made  by  those  com- 
manders. 

Notwithstanding  Hallecks  rude  treatment  of 
Grant's  proposition  to  seize  Fort  Henry,  he  soon 
found  that  Government  had  determined  to  send 
an  expedition  against  both  it  and  Fort  Donelson, 
the  one  on  the  Cumberland  and  the  other  on  the 
Tennessee  river.  Foil  Columbus,  deemed  so  im- 


64  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

pregnable,  was  to  be  flanked  by  their  capture,  and 
a  way  opened  into  Tennessee. 

Fort  Henry  was  the  first  object  of  attack — which 
was  to  be  a  combined  one  of  the  naval  and  land 
forces — Foote  commanding  the  former  and  Grant 
the  latter. 

A  cordon  of  rebel  posts  extended  at  this  time 
across  the  country  from  Columbus,  on  the  Missis- 
sippi, to  Richmond,  on  the  James  river,  and  with 
the  line  thoroughly  broken  at  any  one  important 
point,  the  loyal  armies  would  be  let  loose  to  com- 
mence their  southward  march  into  the  enemy's 
territory.  Thomas  had  partially  done  it  at  Mill 
Spring,  but  at  a  point  that,  especially  at  mid- winter, 
rendered  an  advance  impossible.  But  with  the  Ten- 
nessee and  Cumberland  rivers  cleared,  our  gun- 
boats could  move  along  with  the  land  forces,  car- 
rying all  the  supplies  needed. 

The  grand  movement  was  fixed  for  the  fore- 
part of  February  ;  and  when,  on  the  morning  of 
the  6th,  Foote  was  unmooring  from  the  bank 
where  the  fleet  had  lain  all  night,  several  miles 
below  the  fort,  he  told  Grant  that  he  must  hurry 
forward  his  columns,  or  he  would  not  be  up  in  time 
to  take  part  in  the  action,  and  secure  the  prison- 
ers. The  latter  smiled  incredulously.  But  re- 
sent rains  had  made  the  cart-paths  and  roads  so 
heavy,  that  his  progress  was  slow.  As  he  toiled 
forward,  the  heavy  cannonading,  as  Foote  ad- 


FORT  HENET.  65 

vanced  to  the  attack,  broke  over  the  woods,  and 
rolled  in  deep  vibrations  down  the  shore,  quick- 
ening his  movements.  Before,  however,  the  fort 
was  reached,  the  firing  ceased.  Grant  was  per- 
plexed at  the  sudden  termination  of  the  contest ; 
it  did  not  seem  possible  that  the  fort  had  been  taken 
so  soon ;  it  was  far  more  probable  that  the  gun- 
boats had  fallen  back  disabled.  He  sent  scouts 
forward  to  ascertain  the  truth,  which  soon  came 
galloping  back  with  the  news  that  our  flag  was 
flying  above  the  fort.  The  unexpected  tidings 
rolled  down  the  line,  followed  by  long  and 
deafening  cheers.  Grant,  with  his  staff,  spur- 
red forward,  and  in  half  an  hour  rode  into 
the  fort,  which  was  immediately  turned  over  to 
him. 

Halleck,  who  never  was  anything  but  a  martinet, 
though  conducting  war,  as  he  believed,  on  scientific 
principles,  now  wrote  to  Grant  to  hold  on  and 
strengthen  his  position,  and  forwarded  intrench- 
ing tools  for  that  purpose.  But  this,  Grant  had 
no  intention  of  doing.  Fort  Donelson,  on  the 
Cumberland,  some  twelve  miles  distant,  was  the 
key  to  Nashville,  and  he  at  once  determined  to 
advance  against  it.  Having  left  a  force  in  com- 
mand at  Fort  Henry,  to  hold  it,  he,  with  some 
fifteen  thousand  men,  struck  across  the  country, 
while  Foote,  with  six  regiments  aboard,  went 
round  with  his  gunboats  to  attack  it  on  the  water 


66  LITE   OF  GRANT. 

front  Floyd  commanded  the  fort,  with  Pillow 
and  Buckner  under  him. 

The  rebel  works  here  covered  a  series  of  hills, 
some  of  them  steep,  and  a  hundred  feet  high, 
while  in  front  of  them  the  trees  had  been  felled 
with  the  bushy  tops  pointing  downward  and  out- 
ward, through  which  it  seemed  impossible  that 
troops  could  force  their  way.  Gullies  and  ravines 
also  obstructed  the  advance ;  two  streams  setting 
back  from  the  river  protected  either  flank,  while 
batteries  crowned  every  commanding  height  All 
these,  however,  were  defences  independent  of  the 
fort  itself,  which  was  three-quarters  of  a  mile  back 
of  the  first  breastworks.  It  stood  near  the  river, 
commanding  both  it  and  the  interior,  and  mount- 
ed, in  all,  sixty-five  cannon,  many  of  them  of  large 
calibre. 

Twenty  thousand  men  manned  and  held  this 
strong  position. 

Grant  appeared  before  it  on  the  12th — having 
driven  in  the  rebel  pickets — and  began  to  move 
his  army  to  the  right  and  left,  towards  the  river, 
to  invest  the  place,  and  cut  off  all  avenues  of 
escape  to  the  garrison.  This  was  slow  work,  and, 
strange  to  say,  Grant  threw  up  no  intrenchments 
to  protect  his  troops,  or  serve  as  rallying  points 
in  case  of  a  repulse — a  neglect  he  would  not,  a 
year  after,  have  been  guilty  of. 

Foote,  with  his  fleet,  having  arrived  below  the 


FORT  DONELSOtf.  67 

fort  before  Grant  was  ready  to  cooperate  with 
him,  he  advanced  to  the  attack,  hoping,  with  his 
gunboats,  to  reduce  it,  as  he  had  Fort  Henry. 
But  his  fleet,  after  a  short,  determined  contest, 
was  driven  off,  badly  crippled.  Grant  saw  at 
once  that  a  delay  was  now  inevitable.  He  there- 
upon determined  to  closely  invest  the  place,  and 
wait  till  Foote  could  repair  his  losses,  so  as  to  coop- 
erate with  the  movements  of  the  army.  McCler- 
nand's  division,  composed  of  three  brigades,  was 
sent  to  the  south,  closing  in  with  his  right  on  the 
river,  so  as  to  bar  all  egress  to  the  garrison  in  that 
direction,  while  Gen.  Smith  held  a  corresponding 
position  below,  his  left  resting  likewise  on  the  river. 
Between  these  two  divisions  the  army  stretched 
in  a  huge  semi-circle  round  the  works  and  the 
fort 

The  rebel  commanders,  finding  themselves  thus 
cooped  up,  saw  at  once  that  immediate  action 
must  be  taken,  or  they  would  be  starved  into  a 
surrender,  and  they  resolved,  by  a  desperate 
assault  all  along  Grant's  line,  to  cut  their  way  out 
to  the  south,  towards  Nashville.  Saturday  dawn- 
ed damp  and  chill,  for  the  ground  was  covered 
with  snow,  and  the  soldiers,  roused  from  their 
wintry  couch,  moved  stiff  and  shivering  to  their 
places  in  the  ranks.  Grant,  in  the  meantime,  had 
repaired  on  board  the  flag-ship,  to  consult  with 
the  gallant,  disabled  Foote,  and  ascertain  when 


05  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

he  would  be  ready  for  a  combined  attack  on  the 
place. 

At  this  critical  juncture,  the  enemy  moved  out 
of  his  works.  The  main  force,  estimated  at  seven 
to  twelve  thousand  strong,  under  Pillow,  ad- 
vanced against  McClernand's  right  wing.  The 
other  columns  moving  against  the  centre,  were 
mere  feints  to  distract  Grant's  attention,  and 
prevent  him  from  succouring  McClernand.  Her- 
alded by  three  commanding  batteries,  attended 
by  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  Pillow  struck  the  right 
with  a  force  that  threatened  to  sweep  it  from 
the  field.  But  the  brave  Illinoians  stood  man- 
fully up  to  their  work,  and  the  battle  had  hardly 
commenced  before  it  was  at  its  height.  The 
country  was  wooded,  and  covered  with  underbrush, 
and  broken  into  hollows  and  ridges,  rendering 
a  survey  of  the  field  impossible.  Our  lines  ex- 
tended for  two  miles  around  the  fort,  and  this 
sudden  uproar  early  in  the  morning,  on  our  ex- 
treme right  along  the  banks  of  the  Cumberland, 
called  each  division  into  line  of  battle.  Wallace 
was  posted  next  to  McClernand,  on  the  top  of  a 
high  ridge,  with  forests  sweeping  off  to  the  front 
and  rear. 

When  the  deep  and  mingled  roar  of  artillery 
and  musketry  first  broke  over  the  woods,  Wallace 
thought  McClernand  had  moved  on  the  enemy's 
works.  But  the  latter  was  making,  instead,  des- 


FORT  DONELSON.  69 

perate  efforts  to  hold  his  own  against  the  over- 
whelming numbers  that,  momentarily  increasing, 
pressed  his  lines,  with  a  fierceness  that  threatened 
his  complete  overthrow.  Finding,  at  length,  that 
his  troops  were  giving  way,  he,  at  eight  o'clock, 
sent  off  a  staff-officer  at  full  speed  to  Wallace,  for 
help.  The  latter  had  received  orders  from  Grant 
to  hold  the  position  he  occupied,  in  order  to  keep 
the  enemy  from  escaping  in  that  direction,  and 
dared  not  move;  and  so  hurried  off  the  courier  with 
his  despatch  to  headquarters.  But  Grant  not 
being  there,  the  messenger  kept  on  to  the  gunboats, 
in  search  of  him.  McClernand,  wondering  that 
no  help  came,  and  seeing  his  lines  swinging  back, 
despite  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  commanders, 
hastened  off  another  messenger  to  Wallace,  say- 
ing that  his  flank  was  turned,  and  his  whole 
division  was  wavering.  Wallace  could  wait  no 
longer  to  hear  from  Grant,  and  immediately  des- 
patched Colonel  Croft,  commanding  a  brigade,  to 
his  help.  Wallace  all  this  time  sat  on  his  horse, 
anxiously  waiting  to  hear  from  Grant,  and  listen- 
ing to  the  steady  crash  to  the  right,  that  made 
the  wintry  woods  resound,  when  there  burst  into 
view  a  crowd  of  fugitives,  rushing  up  the  hill  on 
which  he  stood.  The  next  moment  an  officer 
dashed  on  a  headlong  gallop  up  the  road,  shout- 
ing, "  We  are  cut  to  pieces."  Seeing  his  whole 
line  of  the  third  brigade  beginning  to  shake  be- 


70  LITE   OF  GRANT. 

fore  this  sudden  irruption,  he  ordered  its  com- 
mander to  move  on  by  the  right  flank,  he  himseli 
riding  at  its  head  to  keep  it  steady.  He  had  not 
gone  far  before  he  met  portions  of  regiments  in 
full  retreat,  yet  without  panic  or  confusion,  calling 
aloud  for  ammunition.  He  immediately  formed 
his  line  of  battle,  and  sent  off  to  the  left  for  help. 
The  retiring  regiments  kept  on  to  the  rear,  a 
short-  distance,  and  refilled  their  cartridge-boxes. 
Scarcely  was  this  new  line  of  battle  formed,  when 
the  rebels,  following  up  their  advantage  on  the 
right,  swooped  down,  confident  of  victory,  full 
upon  him.  The  shock  was  firmly  met,  and  the 
enemy  brought  to  a  pause.  Hours  had  passed, 
in  the  meantime,  in  which  desperate  fighting  over 
batteries ;  repulses  and  advances  of  regiments 
and  brigades;  shouts  and  yells,  heard  amid  the 
intervals  of  the  uproar,  sweeping  like  a  thunder- 
storm through  the  leafless  woods,  out  of  which 
burst  clouds  of  smoke,  as  though  a  conflagration 
was  raging  below;  hurrying  crowds  in  all  the 
openings, — combined  to  make  up  the  terrific  scene 
that  was  displayed  that  wintry  morning  on  the 
banks  of  the  Cumberland. 

All  this  time,  Grant,  miles  away  and  ignorant 
of  what  was  going  on,  was  slowly  riding  back  to 
the  army,  having  finished  his  consultation  with 
the  Admiral. 

Suddenly  he  saw  an  officer  tearing  down  the 


A  BOLD  RESOLVE.  71 

road,  on  a  wild  gallop,  towards  him.  Reining 
up  beside  his  surprised  commander,  the  latter 
delivered  his  despatch,  and  in  a  few  words  ex- 
plained the  critical  condition  of  affairs.  Grant 
immediately  put  spurs  to  his  horse,  but  had  not 
gone  far  before  he  met  General  Smith,  commanding 
the  left.  From  a  brief  conversation  with  him,  he 
at  once  comprehended  the  whole  matter,  and  with 
that  sudden  inspiration  which  belongs  to  true 
genius,  told  him  to  get  ready  for  a  general  assault 
on  the  enemy's  works  in  his  front.  He  then  gal- 
loped on  to  the  vortex  of  the  battle.  As  he 
advanced,  a  sight  met  his  gaze  that  would  have  ap- 
palled a  less  iron- willed,  self-reliant  man.  Crowds 
of  fugitives  covered  the  fields — even  those  forma- 
*ions  that  stood  firmest  were  dreadfully  disordered 
— ammunition  was  gone,  the  dead  and  wounded 
lay  thick  around,  and  discouragement  and  confu- 
sion were  on  every  side.  He  had  not  arrived  a 
moment  too  soon.  Although  explosions  of  artil- 
lery, and  volleys  of  musketry,  rising  out  of  the 
woods,  showed  that  the  conflict  was  still  raging, 
he  saw  that  the  force  of  the  blow  had  been  spent, 
and  the  enemy  was  exhausted  by  the  tremendous 
effort  he  had  put  forth.  He  knew  at  once,  he  said, 
that  whichever  now  first  attacked  would  win,  and 
he  resolved  to  break  into  a  furious  offensive.  True, 
his  own  losses  had  been  heavy — the  troops  were 
worn  out  with  the  long  struggle,  and  the  entire 


72  LIFE   OP  GRANT. 

army  in  a  disordered  condition.  But  he  found 
the  haversacks  of  the  rebel  prisoners  that  had  been 
captured  in  the  fight  packed  with  rations  for  three 
days,  and  instantly  saw  through  the  plan  of  the 
enemy.  The  bloody  contest  that  had  been  waged 
since  early  in  the  morning  was  not  for  victory,  so 
that  the  place  might  be  held,  but  for  escape.  Said 
he  thoughtfully,  u  They  mean  to  cut  their  way  out ; 
they  have  no  idea  of  staying  here  to  fight  us." 
Wheeling,  he  dashed  the  spurs  into  his  horse  and 
galloped  back  to  the  left,  and  ordered  Smith  to 
move  at  once  on  the  rebel  works. 

It  was  a  bold  resolution,  to  give  up  in  a  moment 
the  gunboats,  which  had  been  the  chief  reliance — 
abandon  the  plan  of  a  combined  movement,  and 
stake  every  thing  on  one  bold  throw.  Napoleon 
once  said,  "A  battle  often  turns  on  a  single 
thought.11  It  was  so  in  this  case.  Grant  knew 
from  the  course  the  battle  had  taken  all  day,  that 
the  enemy  must  be  weakest  at  this  point,  and  most 
unprepared  for  an  attack,  and  in  order  to  keep 
it  from  being  reinforced,  he  directed  McClernand 
— exhausted  and  shattered  as  he  was — to  recover 
his  lost  ground,  piled  with  his  own  dead,  and 
assault  the  rebel  works  on  the  left  from  before 
which  he  had  been  driven.  Wallace  commanded 
the  assaulting  columns,  composed  of  the  two  bri- 
gades of  Colonels  Smith  and  Croft.  As  the 
brave  regiments  moved  past  him,  he  coldly  told 


STOBMING  THE   HEIGHTS.  73 

them  that  desperate  work  was  before  them.  In- 
stead of  being  discouraged  by  this,  they  sent  up 
loud  cheers,  and  "  Forward,  forward,"  ran  along 
the  ranks.  "  Forward,  then !  "  he  shouted,  in  turn. 
Through  dense  underbrush,  over  out-cropping 
ledges  of  rock,  across  open  stony  places,  up  the 
steep  acclivity,  swept  by  desolating  volleys,  they 
boldly  charged,  or  climbed  like  mountain- goats. 
Now  lying  down  to  escape  the  murderous  volleys, 
then  rising  with  a  cheer,  they  pushed  on  till  they 
got  within  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  in- 
trenchments,  when  the  order  came  to  fall  back. 

In  the  mean  time  Smith  was  in  motion.  In 
front  of  him  was  an  entrenched  hill,  which  com- 
manded the  interior  of  the  rebel  works.  If  that 
were  reached,  the  garrison  would  be  uncovered  to 
batteries  planted  on  the  top,  and  Smith  resolved 
to  take  it. 

Sending  a  force  around  to  the  right,  to  make  a 
feint,  he  took  three  picked  regiments — the  2d  and 
7th  Iowa,  and  57th  Indiana— to  compose  the  storm- 
ing column,  and,  riding  at  their  head,  ordered  the 
advance.  As  his  eye  glanced  along  that  splendid 
body  of  men,  he  felt  they  were  equal  to  the  bloody 
task  assigned  them.  The  bayonet  was  to  do  the 
work  this  time.  Mounting  the  slope  with  leaning 
forms,  those  brave  troops  entered  the  desolating 
fire,  that  rolled  like  a  lava-flood  adown  the  height, 
and  pressed  rapidly  upward  and  onward.  Their 
4 


74  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

gallant  leader  moved  beside  them,  with  his  cap 
lifted  on  his  sword,  as  a  banner  to  wave  them  on. 
Grim  and  silent,  with  compressed  lips  and  flash- 
ing eyes,  they  breasted  the  steep  acclivity  and 
the  blinding,  fiery  sleet,  without  faltering  for 
one  instant.  They  sternly  closed  the  rent  ranks 
as  they  ascended,  until  at  last  the  summit  was 
gained.  Then  the  long  line  of  gleaming  barrels 
came  to  a  level  altogether  ;  a  simultaneous  flash, 
a  crashing  volley,  a  cheer,  ringing  high  and  clear 
from  the  smoking  top,  a  single  bound,  and  they 
were  over  and  in  the  rebel  works.  The  flag 
went  up,  and  with  it  a  shout  of  victory  that 
was  the  death  knell  of  Fort  Donelson.  Hurry- 
ing up  his  artillery  and  supports,  Smith  fixed  him- 
self firmly  in  position  and  awaited  the  morning 
light  to  complete  the  work  already  more  than 
half  done. 

That  wintry  night  the  troops  on  the  extreme 
right,  ignorant  of  Smith's  success,  lay  down  with 
their  arms  in  their  hands,  on  the  blood-stained 
snow,  weary  and  hungry,  and  cold,  yet  resolute, 
and  prepared  for  the  assault  in  the  morning. 
Smith's  heroes  also  bivouacked  on  the  frozen, 
crimson  ground  they  had  so  gallantly  won,  while 
Grant  with  his  heart  relieved  of  a  heavy  burden, 
took  refuge  in  a  negro  hut.  to  snatch  a  short  re- 
pose, or  ponder  on  the  events  of  the  coming  morn- 
ing. He  knew  that  he  had  been  near  defeat,  but 


THB  FLAG  OF  TBUOK.  75 

he  now  felt  that  victory  was  sure,  and  he  longed 
impatiently  for  the  morning  to  dawn. 

At  daylight,  the  roll  of  the  drum  and  bugle 
note  called  the  ranks  on  the  right  from  their  frozen 
bivouac,  to  prepare  for  the  grand  final  assault 

Though  cold  and  chill,  they  sternly  closed  up 
their  thinned  ranks  on  the  blood- stained  snow, 
while  not  a  heart  beat  faint.  No  sublimer  specta- 
cle was  ever  witnessed  than  those  gallant  men  pre- 
sented, on  that  Sabbath  morning,  as  they  took 
their  position  in  front  of  the  frowning  works  of  the 
enemy.  Marching  from  Fort  Henry  without 
tents  or  rations,  except  such  as  they  could  carry 
in  their  haversacks — exposed  for  three  days  and 
nights  without  shelter  or  fire,  and  two  out  of  the 
three  to  the  driving  snow  or  piercing  cold,  and  all 
the v  time  under  fire ;  yet  they  stood  eagerly  wait- 
ing the  order  to  launch  themselves  on  the  foe. 

Smith,  down  the  river,  was,  at  the  same  time, 
training  his  guns  on  the  devoted  garrison,  and  all 
was  ready  for  the  final  struggle.  At  that  moment 
Col.  Lauman  heard  the  clear  note  of  a  bugle,  ris- 
ing from  out  the  enemy's  works,  and  turning  his 
eye  thither,  he  saw  a  white  flag  waving  above 
them.  A  long,  loud  cheer  went  up  at  the  sight, 
which,  taken  up  by  regiment  after  regiment,  as  the 
exciting  news  travelled  along  the  line,  at  last 
reached  the  troops  of  Wallace,  on  the  extreme 
right,  just  ready  to  move  to  the  assault,  In  a 


76  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

moment  their  caps  were  in  the  air,  and  amid  long 
and  repeated  cheers,  the  band  struck  up  trium- 
phant airs,  making  the  wintry  Sabbath  morning  a 
scene  never  to  be  forgotten. 

During  the  night  the  rebel  generals  had  held  a 
consultation  over  their  desperate  condition,  in 
which,  after  much  sharp  discussion,  it  was  finally 
decided  that  Floyd  should  hand  over  the  com- 
mand to  Pillow,  and  he  to  Buckner,  who  should 
surrender  the  place,  while  the  two  former  would  at- 
tempt to  make  their  escape.  When  this  decision 
was  reported  to  the  brigade  and  regimental  offi- 
cers, some  were  astonished,  while  others  stormed, 
and  cursed  the  renegade  commanders.  A  rebel 
officer  thus  describes  the  scene : 

"  One  said,  '  It  is  mean  ! '  *  It  is  cowardly ! ' 
'Floyd  always  was  a  rascal.' 

"  4  We  are  betrayed ! '  4  There  is  treachery ! ' 
said  they. 

"  '  It  is  a  mean  trick  for  an  officer  to  desert  his 
men.  If  my  troops  are  to  be  surrendered,  I  shall 
stick  by  them,"  said  Major  Brown. 

" '  I  denounce  Pillow  as  a  coward  ;  and  if  I  ever 
meet  him,  I'll  shoot  him  as  quick  as  I  would  a 
dog,'  said  Major  McLain,  red  with  rage. 

"  There  were  two  or  three  small  steamboats  at  the 
Dover  landing.  Floyd  and  Pillow  went  on  board 
of  one  of  them,  taking  part  of  the  Virginia  bri- 
gade with  them.  This  being  seen  by  some  of  the 


THE   SURBENDER.  77 

other  troops  they  became  furious  and  rushed  on 
board,  crowding  every  part  of  the  boat. 

" '  Cut  loose  ! '  shouted  Floyd  to  the  captain/ 
The  ropes  were  cut,  the  boats  swung  into  the 
stream,  and  the  fugitives  steered  for  Nashville. 

Soon  after  the  flag  of  truce  was  raised,  an  offi- 
cer appeared  bearing  the  following  communica- 
tion from  General  Buckner : 

HEADQUARTERS,  FOBT  DOXELSON,  February  16,  1863. 

SIR  :  In  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  gov- 
erning tbe  present  situation  of  affairs  at  this  station,  I 
propose  to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Federal  forces 
the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  agree  upon  terms 
of  capitulation  of  the  forces  and  fort  under  my  com- 
mand, and,  in  that  view,  suggest  an  armistice  till 
twelve  o  clock  to-day. 

I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  B.  BUCKNER,  Brig.-Gen.  C.  S.  A. 

To  Brigadier-General  GBANT,  commanding  United  States  forces 
near  Fort  Donelbon. 

Grant  did  not  want  time  to  consider  what  an- 
swer to  make.  His  blood  was  up,  and  he  would 
wait  for  no  mere  formalities  or  spend  time  in  dis- 
cussing terms,  and  sent  the  following  short  per- 
emptory reply : 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  IN  THE  FIELD,         ) 
GAMP  NEAB  DONELSON,  February  16,  1862.  J 

To  GENERAL  S.  B.  BUCKNER,  Confederate  Army : 

Yours  of  this  date,  proposing  an  armistice,  and  ap- 
pointment of  commissioners  to  settle  terms  of  capitiila- 


78  LIVE  OF  GEANT. 

tion,  is  just  received.      No  terms  other  than  uncon 
ditional  and  immediate  surrender  can  be  accepted.    1 
propose  to  move  immediately  upon  your  works. 
I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT, 
Brig. -Gen.  U.  8.  A,  Commanding. 

Buckner,  chagrined,  but  helpless,  saw  there  was 
no  alternative  but  submit  or  see  the  Union  sol- 
diers  rolling  like  the  sea  over  his  works,  and  so  he 
sent  the  following  note : 

HEADQUARTERS,  DOVER,  TENNESSEE,  Feb.  16, 1862. 

To  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  GRANT  : 

SIR  :  The  distribution  of  forces  under  my  command, 
incident  to  an  unexpected  change  of  commanders,  and 
the  overwhelming  force  under  your  command,  compel 
me,  notwithstanding  the  brilliant  success  of  the  Con- 
federate army  yesterday,  to  accept  the  ungenerous,  and 
unchivalrous  terms  which  you  propose. 
I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  B.  BUCKNER, 
Brigadier-General,  0.  S.  A. 

Grant,  smiling  significantly  at  this  reflection 
on  his  generosity  and  chivalry,  mounted  his 
horse  and  rode  at  once  to  Buckner's  headquarters. 
The  meeting  was  courteous  and  frank,  for  they  had 
been  cadets  together  at  West  Point ;  and  Grant, 
mindful  of  old  times,  told  the  latter  that  he  did 
not  desire  to  dictate  any  terms,  for  the  mere  pur- 
pose of  humiliating  him,  and  that  the  officers 
might  retain  their  side-arms,  and  both  they  and 


BREAKFASTS   WITH  BTJCKNER.  79 

the  soldiers  keep  their  personal  baggage,  but 
every  thing  else  must  be  surrendered.  Buckner 
then  invited  him  to  breakfast,  and,  over  their 
coffee,  victor  and  vanquished  discussed,  good- 
naturedly,  the  operations  of  the  past  few  days. 
In  alluding  to  the  inferior  force  of  Grant,  when 
he  first  advanced  across  the  country  towards  the 
fort,  the  rebel  general  said  if  he  had  been  in  chief 
command,  the  former  never  would  have  reached 
it  as  easily  as  he  did.  Grant  replied  that,  if  he 
had  been,  the  army  would  have  waited  for  re- 
inforcements ;  "  but,"  he  added,  "  I  knew  that 
Pillow  would  not  come  out  of  his  works  and  fight 
me,  and  I  told  my  staff  so."  He  knew  the  stuff 
that  his  former  comrade  was  made  of,  and  had 
also  some  experience  in  Mexico  of  the  military 
ability  of  Pillow. 

When,  soon  after,  the  prisoners  were  being 
put  on  board  steamers,  to  be  carried  north, 
Buckner  asked  Grant  to  take  a  look  at  his  bri- 
gade, which  had  been  drilled  under  his  own  eye. 
The  latter  went  on  board  the  steamer,  and  was 
soon  the  centre  of  all  eyes.  Buckner  then  made 
his  men  a  short  speech,  in  which  he  praised 
Grant's  kind  treatment  of  them,  and  bade  them 
remember  it,  if,  hereafter,  the  fortune  of  war 
should  throw  any  of  his  soldiers  into  their  power. 

Sixty -five  guns,  over  seventeen  thousand  small 
arms,  and  fifteen  thousand  troops  fell  into  Grant's 


80  LIFE  OP  GRANT. 

hands,  as  the  result  of  this  victory.  The  loss  of 
the  enemy  in  killed  and  wounded  could  only  be 
conjectured,  while  his  own  was  a  little  over  two 
thousand.  Probably,  it  was  nearly  the  same  in 
both  armies. 

Grant's  army,  though  comparatively  so  weak 
when  he  started  across  the  country  from  Fort 
Henry,  had  been  heavily  reinforced,  so  that,  on 
the  day  of  battle,  he  had  in  the  field  twenty-seven 
thousand  men.  He  captured  more  guns  than  he 
had  in  the  siege,  for  he  brought  along  but  eight 
light  batteries,  which  were  not  at  all  suitable  for 
siege  operations. 

The  victory  was  the  most  important  one  that 
had  yet  been  obtained  by  our  troops,  and  it  elec- 
trified the  nation.  As  the  exciting  news  travelled 
over  the  land,  bells  were  set  ringing,  and  salvos 
of  artillery  fired,  and  men  thought  the  end  of  the 
rebellion  to  be  near  at  hand.  Grant  at  once  be- 
came a  favorite  of  the  people,  and  his  emphatic 
reply  to  Buckner,  "I propose  to  move  immediately 
upon  your  works"  was  in  every  one's  mouth.  It 
was  uttered  by  some  not  only  to  show  the  charac- 
ter of  Grant,  and  to  swell  his  praise,  but  as  a  sar- 
casm upon  military  scienca  Even  the  Secretary 
of  War,  in  an  absurd  letter,  used  it  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  for  a  while  it  seemed  that  no  commander 
could  retain  his  position,  if  he  did  not  throw  to 
the  wind  all  rules  of  war,  and,  no  matter  what 


CONGRATULATORY    ORDER.  81 

the  condition  of  things  might  be,  "move  at  once 
upon  the  enemy's  works,"  wherever  found.  With 
Grant,  it  was  no  rash  determination,  based 
on  mere  brute  daring,  but  the  dictate  of  true 
military  sagacity.  Many  afterwards  imitated  his 
boldness,  but,  wanting  his  wisdom,  made  sad  fail- 
ures, and  sacrificed  thousands  of  lives  in  vain. 

The  day  after  the  battle,  he  issued  the  following 
congratulatory  order  to  his  soldiers : 

HEADQUARTERS,  DISTRICT  OF  WEST  TENITEBSEE,  > 
FORT  DONELSON,  February  17, 1862.         f 

The  General  commanding  takes  great  pleasure  in 
congratulating  the  troops  of  this  command  for  the  tri- 
umph over  rebellion  gained  by  their  valor,  on  the  13th, 
14th,  and  15tli  instant. 

For  four  successive  nights,  without  shelter,  during 
the  most  inclement  weather  known  in  this  latitude, 
they  faced  an  enemy  in  large  force,  in  a  position  chosen 
by  himself.  Though  strongly  fortified  by  nature,  all 
the  additional  safeguards  suggested  by  science  were 
added.  Without  a  murmur  tin's  was  borne,  prepared 
fct  all  times  to  receive  an  attack,  and  with  continuous 
skirmishing  by  day,  resulting  ultimately  in  forcing  the 
enemy  to  surrender  without  condition. 

The  victory  achieved  is  not  only  great  in  the  effect 
it  will  have  in  breaking  down  rebellion,  but  has  secured 
the  greatest  number  of  prisoners  of  war  ever  taken  in 
any  battle  on  this  continent. 

Fort  Donelson  will  hereafter  be  marked  in  capitals 
on  the  map  of  our  united  country,  and  the  men  who 
fought  the  battle  will  live  in  the  memory  of  a  grateful 
people.  By  order, 

U.  S.  GKANT, 
Brig.-Gon.  Commanding. 

4* 


82  LIFE   OP   GRAOT. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Donelson  opened  Nashvill< 
to  our  forces.  When  the  disastrous  news  reached 
the  city,  the  quiet  Sabbath  morning  was  turned 
into  a  scene  of  the  wildest  excitement.  The  last 
news  from  the  fort  was  a  despatch  from  Pillow, 
the  day  before,  saying  "The  day  is  ours,"  and 
hence  all  fears  were  quieted.  Its  surrender,  there- 
fore, fell  on  the  people,  who  were  quietly  assem- 
bling for  church,  like  a  thunderbolt  at  noon-day 
from  a  cloudless  sky.  Paces  turned  pale  with 
affright,  men  dashed  wildly  on  horseback  through 
the  streets,  which  soon  were  thronged  with  ex- 
cited men  and  women.  Every  available  vehicle 
was  at  once  seized ;  and  the  terrified  inhabitants, 
flinging  in  the  few  articles  they  could  conveniently 
carry,  hurried  off  southward,  for  in  imagination 
they  already  heard  the  tread  of  Grant's  advancing 
legions.  The  public  stores  were  thrown  open, 
into  which  the  rabble  rushed  for  pillage ;  and  for 
twenty-four  hours  a  scene  of  terror  and  lawless- 
ness was  witnessed  that  baffles  description. 

With  the  fall  of  Donelson,  not  only  fell  Nash- 
ville and  Bowling  Green,  but  Columbus  itself 
became  untenable,  and  was  soon  after  evacuated. 

Thus,  without  the  aid  of  the  fleet,  Grant,  by 
one  grand  and  terrible  blow,  had  broken  down 
the  whole  line  of  the  enemy's  defence,  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Alleghany  mountains,  and 
shoved  it  beyond  the  State  of  Kentucky. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DISGRACE   OF  GRANT. 

Halleck's  Neglect— His  uitfust  and  abusive  Despatch  to  Wash- 
ington— Failure  of  his  Attempt  to  injure  him  with  the  Gov- 
ernment— Grant  ordered  to  Fort  Henry — Halleck  accuses 
him  of  Acting  Unbecoming  an  Officer — Puts  Smith  in  his  Place 
at  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee — Continues  his  Per- 
secutions— Noble  Conduct  of  Grant — Denies  the  Charges  made 
against  him — Asks  to  be  relieved  from  Command  till  his  Con- 
duct can  be  investigated — Sudden  Change  in  Halleck's  Treat- 
ment— Attempts  to  vindicate  his  Conduct—His  Duplicity — 
Unsuspected  by  Grant — General  Morgan  treated  in  a  similar 
manner — Magnanimity  of  Grant  and  Smith — Kumors  of  Grant's 
Arrest. 

Bur,  from  some  cause  or  other,  Halleck  refused 
to  acknowledge  the  merits  of  Grant  in  this  bril- 
liant movement.  His  congratulatory  order  to 
the  troops  was  cold  and  restrained,  giving  Grant 
no  especial  praise,  while,  at  the  same  time,  he 
spoke  of  the  necessity  of  discipline  and  good 
order,  in  a  way  that  implied  censure.  Whether 
he  was  vexed  that  Grant  had  refused  to  stay  and 
fortify  himself  at  Fort  Henry,  and,  acting  on  his 
own  responsibility,  had  attacked  and  taken  Fort 
Donelson,  and  thus  practically  demonstrated  his 
superiority  in  the  art  of  war ;  or  whether  angry 


84  LIFE   OP  GKANT. 

at  being  so  suddenly  eclipsed  by  a  subordinate,  B 
is  impossible  to  say. 

At  all  events,  he  sent  the  following  remarkable 
telegram  to  Washington,  which  admits  of  no  pal- 
liation :  "  Smith,  by  his  coolness  and  bravery  at 
Fort  Donelson,  when  the  battle  was  against  us, 
turned  the  tide  and  carried  the  enemy's  outworks. 
Make  him  a  major-general :  you  can't  get  a  better 
one.  Honor  him  for  this  victory,  and  the  country 
will  applaud."  Here  a  commander- in-chief  urges 
the  promotion  of  a  subordinate,  who  had  only 
gallantly  carried  out  the  orders  of  his  superior, 
to  major-general,  while  the  commander  himself 
was  but  a  brigadier.  It  was  a  most  wicked  and 
shameful  thrust,  but  it  failed  of  success,  for  the 
Secretary  of  War  recommended  instead  Grant  to 
that  rank,  and  he  was  made  a  major-general,  his 
promotion  to  date  from  the  day  of  the  surrender 
of  the  fort,  and  uthe  whole  country"  did  "ap- 
plaud "  the  act 

On  the  27th  of  the  month,  Grant  went  to 
Nashville  to  consult  with  General  Buell,  who  had 
arrived  there  with  his  army  from  Bowling  Green, 
on  future  operations.  The  very  next  morning  he 
returned,  and  immediately  advised  Halleck  of  it 
On  the  subsequent  day  he  wrote  again  to  Hal- 
leek's  chief  of  staff,  stating  he  had  forwarded  tc 
the  former  all  information  of  his  movements,  the 
condition  of  the  enemy,  and  his  own  wants.  On 


UNJUST  CENSUKB.  85 

the  same  day,  Halleck  sent  a  despatch  directing 
him  to  move  his  army  back  to  Fort  Henry,  pre- 
paratory to  an  advance  up  the  Tennessee.  Two 
days  after  Grant  received  it,  his  columns  were  in 
motion.  But  the  day  previous,  without  waiting 
to  hear  from  him,  Halleck  sent  the  following  tele- 
gram to  Washington,  which,  coming  from  any  other 
man  than  he,  would  be  considered  a  curiosity  in 
its  way.  He  says,  "  I  have  had  no  communica- 
tion with  General  Grant  for  more  than  a  week. 
He  left  his  command  without  my  authority,  and 
went  to  Nashville.  His  army  seems  to  be  as 
much  demoralized  by  the  victory  of  Fort  Donel- 
son,  as  was  that  of  the  Potomac  by  the  defeat  of 
Bull  Run.  It  is  hard  to  censure  a  successful 
general  immediately  after  a  victory,  but  he  richly 
deserves  it.  I  can  get  110  returns,  no  reports,  no 
information  of  any  kind  from  him.  Satisfied 
with  his  victory,  he  sits  down  and  enjoys  it  with- 
out any  regard  to  the  future.  I  am  worn  out 
and  tired  by  this  neglect  and  inefficiency.  C.  F. 
Smith  is  almost  the  only  officer  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency." 

Viewed  in  its  various  bearings,  in  what  a  piti- 
ful light  does  this  present  Halleck.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is  such  a  serious  offence  for  Grant,  after 
opening  Nashville,  to  run  up  and  see  what  the 
movements  of  the  enemy  are,  and  what  next  is  to 
be  done,  that  the  former  must  telegraph  the  fact 


86  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

to  Washington  in  a  tone  of  complaint.  In  the 
second  place,  he  declares  that  the  victorious  army 
is  as  much  demoralized  as  the  army  of  the  Poto- 
mac at  Bull  Run,  when  he  has  never  seen  it,  and, 
as  he  affirms,  can  get  no  report,  no  information 
of  any  kind  with  regard  to  it  In  the  third  place, 
after  charging  Grant  with  being  too  active  because 
he  went  to  Nashville  to  see  if  he  could  be  of  any 
service,  going  even  beyond  the  limits  of  his  com- 
mand, he,  in  the  next  breath,  accuses  him  of  sit- 
ting down  and  "  enjoying  his  victory,"  regardless 
of  the  future.  To  cap  the  climax  of  this  absurd, 
petulant,  false  accusation,  he,  in  his  warm  and 
comfortable  house  in  St.  Louis,  complains  of  being 
"tired  and  warn  out,"  while  the  man  who  has 
been  winning  victories  amid  hail  and  snow,  is 
"sitting  down"  and  enjoying  himself 

But  having  thus  poisoned  the  minds  of  those  at 
Washington,  he  obtained  the  requisite  liberty  to 
strike,  and  the  very  next  day  after  this  secret  stab, 
he  sent  a  despatch  to  Grant,  ordering  him  to  turn 
over  the  command  of  the  expedition  planned  for 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Tennessee  to  Smith,  and 
remain  himself  at  Fort  Henry.  Complaining 
that  Grant  was  sitting  still,  he  now  determined  to 
see  that  he  should  sit  still,  and  see  his  brave  troops; 
whom  he  had  led  to  victory,  defile  away  from  him 
under  another  commander.  But  instead  of  utter- 
ing any  complaint,  Grant  contented  himself  with 


HALLECK'S  PERSECUTIONS.  87 

denying  that  he  had  ever  disobeyed  orders,  and 
adds,  "  In  conclusion,  I  will  say,  that  you  may 
rely  on  my  carrying  out  your  instructions  in  every 
particular  to  the  best  of  my  ability."  Calm  and 
serene  under  his  disgrace,  he  is  just  as  ready  to 
help  his  commander  as  though  the  latter  were  not 
plotting  his  ruin.  Without  envy  or  mere  per- 
sonal ambition,  he  congratulates  Smith  on  his 
promotion,  and  says  that  "  he  deserves  it,"  and  he 
will  give  him  all  the  aid  in  his  power.  Unselfish 
and  noble,  he  thinks  only  of  his  country's  welfare. 
Halleck,  however,  seems  to  be  under  some  baleful 
influence,  and  continues  his  persecutions  with  a 
pertinacity  that  is  inexplicable.  Not  content  with 
disgracing  him  and  leaving  him  to  do  simply 
garrison  duty,  he,  two  days  after  he  had  removed 
him  from  command,  sent  another  rebuke,  reitera- 
ting his  old  charges. 

Besting  only  a  short  time,  he  returns  again  to 
his  fault-finding,  as  if  he  thought  the  repetition  of 
his  accusations  would  establish  their  truth.  To 
all  of  these,  Grant  replied,  in  the  same  calm, 
courteous  spirit.  In  answer  to  the  charge  that 
he  failed  to  report  the  number  of  troops  under 
his  command,  he,  in  his  quiet,  straightforward, 
truthful  way,  says,  "  You  had  a  better  chance  of 
knowing  my  strength  whilst  my  command  was 
surrounding  Fort  Donelson,  than  I  had.  Troops 
were  reporting  daily  by  your  orders,  and  were 


00  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

immediately  assigned  to  brigades"  This  was  a 
home  thrust,  though  probably  not  intended  for 
one,  but  only  as  a  vindication  of  himself.  It 
showed  that  the  looseness  was  at  headquarters,  in 
not  keeping  account  of  the  troops  sent  forward. 

Grant,  at  the  first,  when  he  found  himself 
falsely  accused,  asked  to  be  relieved  from  duty, 
and  he  now  repeated  the  request,  and  after  say- 
ing, "  There  is  such  a  disposition  to  find  fault 
with  me  that  I  again  ask  to  be  relieved  from  duty 
until  I  can  be  placed  right  in  the  estimation  of 
those  high  in  authority." 

The  simple,  unpretending,  unsuspicious  man- 
ner in  which  he  behaves  during  all  this  trying 
period,  when  he  was  so  unjustly  assailed,  and 
finally  placed  in  disgrace,  brings  out  in  bright  re- 
lief some  of  the  most  attractive  points  in  his  char- 
acter. Unaccustomed  to  the  tricks  and  cabals  of 
politicians — totally  ignorant  in  himself  of  those 
petty,  low  ambitions  of  which  rivals  are  made — 
apparently  wholly  unable  to  comprehend  a  char- 
acter which  can  cover  up  its  duplicity  with  hypoc- 
risy, he  has  a  simple,  almost  child-like  faith  in 
truth  that  is  marvellous.  At  first  sight,  it  seems 
that  such  an  honest,  unsuspecting  object  of  perse- 
cution can  stand  no  chance  against  unscrupulous 
men  who  work  in  the  dark.  He  was  not,  however, 
to  be  laid  aside — Providence  had  more  and  greater 
work  for  him  to  do. 


A  SUDDEN  CHANGE.  89 

Halleck  having,  after  the  3d  of  March,  for 
nearly  a  week  kept  up  a  continuous  fire  on  Grunt, 
either  directly  or  through  Washington,  suddenly 
turned  round,  and  told  him  that  he  could  not  be 
relieved  from  command.  He  says,  with  an 
effrontery  that  would  have  taken  away  the  breath 
from  a  less  calm,  immobile  man  than  Grant, 
w  TJiere  is  no  good  reason  for  it"  No  "  reason  " 
for  relieving  a  man  from  command  until  he  can 
vindicate  himself,  when  he  has  persistently  dis- 
obeyed orders — violated  the  laws  of  the  service  in 
leaving  his  command  without  liberty — been  guilty 
of  "  marauding  " — allowed  his  victorious  army  to 
be  more  demoralized  than  a  routed  one,  and  amid 
such  chaos  and  amid  all  the  great  preparations  go- 
ing on  around  him,  sits  quietly  down  and  refuses 
to  do  any  thing  !  No  reason  for  relieving  him ! 
One  would  think,  on  the  contrary,  if  all  these 
charges  were  true,  there  was  quite  reason  enough 
for  suspending,  if  not  for  cashiering  him. 

After  he  had  shown  himself  so  petulant,  and 
eager  to  prefer  any  and  every  charge  against 
Grant,  without  stopping  to  investigate  the  truth 
of  them,  one  naturally  inquires  what  could 
have  caused  this  sudden  revolution  in  his  con- 
duct. There  had  been  no  trial,  no  investiga- 
tion, no  new  developments.  Such  a  sudden 
exhibition  of  criminal  leniency  right  on  the  top 
of  such  eager  haste  to  condemn  and  disgrace, 


90  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

deserves  some  explanation.  Did  the  department 
commander  discover  that  Grant  was  too  deeply 
implanted  in  the  favor  of  the  Secretary  of  Wai 
and  the  President,  to  be  thus  summarily  disposed 
of — or  did  he  begin  to  fear  that  he  had  acted  in 
a  way  that  would  not  stand  the  scrutiny  of  a 
court  of  inquiry,  and  the  blow  he  had  aimed 
at  an  innocent  head  might  have  a  disagreeable  re- 
bound  ?  Any  other  General  would  have  refused 
to  be  satisfied  with  this  retraction,  and  insisted  on 
a  court  of  inquiry,  where  his  vindication  might 
be  complete.  But  Grant,  truthful  himself,  be- 
lieved in  the  sincerity  of  the  statements  of  others, 
and  with  that  self  abnegation  which  has  made  him 
so  conspicuous  in  this  generation  of  self-seekers, 
replied  that  he  had  thought,  after  the  severe  cen- 
sures heaped  upon  him,  that  he  could  not  "  serve 
longer  without  a  court  of  inquiry  ;  but  your  tele- 
gram of  yesterday  places  such  a  different  phase 
upon  my  position,  that  I  will  again  assume  com- 
mand, and  give  every  effort  to  the  success  of  our 
cause.  Under  the  worst  circumstances,  I  would 
do  the  same."  No  matter  how  deep  the  disgrace 
they  might  unjustly  inflict  on  him,  he  would 
"  give  every  effort  to  the  success  of  the  cause/ 
Evidently  for  the  purpose  of  making  Grant  be- 
lieve that  he  had  acted  under  advices  from  Wash- 
ington, and  not  from  his  own  suggestions  and 
from  inclination,  he  sent  him  the  following  corre- 


CURIOUS  COINCIDENCE.  91 

•pondence,  which  on  the  face  of  it  places  Halleck 
not  only  in  a  fair,  curious  coincidence,  but  mag- 
nanimous light  The  first  is  a  letter  from  the 
AIjutant-General,  sent  apparently  without  any 
suggestion  received  from  Halleck. 

HEADQUABTEES  OP  THE  ARMY,  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE. 
WASHINGTON,  March  10,  1867. 

May.  -Gen.  H.  W.  Halleclcy  U.  S.  A.,  Commanding  Dept.  of  the  Mi*- 
St.  Louis  : 


It  has  been  reported  that,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Fort 
Donelson,  Brigadier-General  Grant  left  his  command 
without  leave.  By  direction  of  the  President,  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  directs  you  to  ascertain,  and  report, 
whether  Gen.  Grant  left  his  command  at  any  time  with- 
out proper  authority,  and,  if  so,  for  how  long  ;  whether 
he  has  made  to  you,  proper  reports  and  returns  of  his 
forces  ;  whether  he  has  committed  any  acts  which  were 
unauthorized,  or  not  in  accordance  with  military  subor- 
dination or  propriety,  and  if  so,  what. 

L.  THOMAS,  Adjutant-General. 

Notice  here,  that  the  "reports"  to  which  he 
alludes  are,  one  and  all,  precisely  the  charges  made 
in  Halleck's  extraordinary  letter,  which  we  gave  a 
few  pages  back  The  latter  now  sees,  evidently, 
that  he  has  gone  too  far,  and  returns  the  follow- 
ing answer,  which  he  sends  to  Grant,  to  show  that 
he  had  no  hand  in  these  serious  charges  —  that 
what  he  did  was  from  orders,  which  he  had  re- 
ceived from  Washington,  and  that,  instead  of  un- 
justly accusing  him  and  persecuting  him,  he  had 
nobly  stepped  between  him  and  the  authorities  at 


92  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

Washington,  and,  unsolicited,  had  vindicated  hia 
conduct  and  saved  him  from  a  court  of  inquiry  • 


HEADQUARTERS  PEPT.  ov  ITTE 

ST.  Louis,  Mo.,  March  15,  18G2. 
Brig.-Gen.  Thomas,  Adjutant-  General  of  the  Armij,  Washington: 

In  accordance  with  your  instructions  of  the  10th  inst., 
I  report  that  Gen.  Grant  and  several  officers  of  high 
rank  in  his  command,  immediately  after  the  battle  of 
Fort  Donelson,  went  to  Nashville  without  my  authority 
or  knowledge.  I  am  satisfied,  however,  from  investiga- 
tion, that  Gen.  Grant  did  this  from  good  intentions,  and 
from  a  desire  to  subserve  the  public  interests.  Not  be- 
ing advised  of  Gen.  Buell's  movements,  and  learniug 
that  Gen.  Buell  had  ordered  Smith's  division  of  bis 
(Grant's)  command  to  Nashville,  he  deemed  it  his  duty 
to  go  there  in  person.  During  the  absence  of  Gen. 
Grant,  and  a  part  of  his  general  officers,  numerous 
irregularities  are  said  to  have  occurred  at  Fort  Donel- 
son. These  were  in  violation  of  the  orders  issued  by 
Gen.  Grant  before  leaving,  and  probably,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, were  unavoidable.  Gen.  Grant  has  made 
the  proper  explanations,  and  has  been  directed  to  re- 
sume his  command  in  the  field  ;  as  he  acted  from  a 
praiseworthy  although  mistaken  ^eal  for  the  public  ser- 
vice in  going  to  Nashville,  and  leaving  his  command,  I 
respectfully  recommend  that  no  further  notice  be  taken 
of  it.  There  never  has  been  any  want  of  military  sub- 
ordination on  the  part  of  Gen.  (irant,  and  his  failure  to 
make  returns  of  his  forces  has  been  explained  as  result- 
ing partly  from  the  failure  of  Colonels  of  regiments  to 
report  to  him  on  their  arrival,  and  partly  from  an  inter- 
ruption of  telegraphic  communication.  All  these  irregu- 
larities have  now  been  remedied. 

H.  W.  TT  ALLEGE,  Major-General 

Grant,  evidently,  was  completely  deceived  by 
this  correspondence,  which  Halleck  transmitted  to 
him.  Unsuspicious  of  double-dealing,  and  touched 


A  NOBLE  MAN  DECEIVED.  93 

by  the  apparent  magnanimous  conduct  of  his  su- 
perior, he  replied :  "I  most  fully  appreciate  your 
justness,  General,  in  the  part  you  have  taken,  and 
you  may  rely  upon  me  to  the  utmost  of  my  capacity 
for  carrying  out  all  your  orders."  He  felt,  as  he 
said  in  the  same  letter,  that  "  he  had  not  neglected 
a  single  duty,"  but  he  was  willing  to  let  the  past 
go.  We  can  only  conjecture  what  would  have 
been  his  feelings  had  Halleck  sent  with  this  cor- 
respondence, his  own  letter,  dated  March  3d  (just 
a  week  before)  to  the  General-in-chief  at  Wash- 
ington. It  is  a  shallow  cunning  that  prompts  to 
such  &  course  as  this,  and  yet  leaves  the  proof  of 
it  on  record  where  it  is  certain,  sooner  or  later,  to 
come  to  the  light. 

This  treatment,  however,  is  in  perfect  harmony 
with  that  which  General  Morgan,  who  held  Fort 
Cumberland,  received.  Compelled  to  evacuate  the 
place  because  Halleck  could  not  or  would  not 
either  reinforce  him  or  furnish  him  supplies,  he 
carried  his  little  army  for  two  hundred  miles 
through  a  desert  country,  making  one  of  the  most 
memorable  marches  of  the  war.  Although  with 
ten  thousand  men,  the  place  had  been  held  in 
the  face  of  starvation,  and  the  assembling  of 
a  hundred  thousand  troops  around  it,  yet,  as 
its  evacuation  made  the  campaign  for  the  occu- 
pation of  Knoxville  and  East  Tennessee  a  fail- 
ure, Halleck  wished  the  blame  to  rest  on  other 


94  LIFE    OF   GEAOT. 

shoulders  than  his  own,  and  so  ordered  an  inves- 
tigation of  the  matter,  hoping  to  be  able  to  place 
it  on  Morgan's.  But  General  Wright,  whom  he 
had  appointed  to  conduct  it,  made  a  report  com- 
pletely exculpating  Morgan.  Yet  with  this  report 
before  him,  Halleck,  in  his  annual  report  to  Con- 
gress, intimates  that  the  evacuation  was  unne- 
cessary, and  adds  that  he  has  "  ordered  an  inves- 
tigation." This  coming  to  the  notice  of  General 
Morgan,  he  was  indignant,  and  immediately  wrote 
to  Halleck,  demanding  a  Court  of  Inquiry,  or 
Court  MartiaL  The  latter,  in  reply,  said  that  he 
had  directed  General  Wright  to  make  an  investi- 
gation, and  if  "that  was  satisfactory,11  no  further 
steps  would  be  necessary,  and  he  would  be  "re- 
lieved from  all  blame.1'  Morgan  wrote  at  once  to 
Wright,  on  the  subject,  when  he  learned  to  his 
astonishment  that  the  latter  had  made  the  inves- 
tigation, finished  his  report,  and  sent  it  in  the 
October  previous  to  the  report  of  Halleck  to  Con- 
gress, in  which  he  says  he  has  "  ordered  an  inves- 
tigation,11 and  months  previous  to  his  letter  to 
Morgan,  in  which  he  reasserts  the  action  he  had 
taken,  as  if  the  matter  was  still  in  abeyance,  and 
had  not,  on  the  contrary,  been  completed  the  fall 
before. 

In  what  striking  contrast  to  this  does  the  con- 
duct of  both  Smith  and  Grant  appear.  When  the 
former  was  placed  over  Grant,  the  latter,  instead 


RUMOR  OF  HIS   ABBEST.  35 

of  indulging  in  unkind  feelings,  wrote  to  Smith  a 
congratulatory  letter,  expressing  his  pleasure  at  his 
advancement,  and  saying,  "  Any  thing  you  may 
require,  send  back  transports  for,  and  if  within  my 
power  you  shall  have  it."  On  the  other  hand, 
when  Smith  heard  that  Grant  had  been  restored 
to  his  old  position,  he  writes  a  congratulatory  let- 
ter hi  turn,  expressing  his  pleasure  that  he  once 
more  had  his  old  command,  from  which,  he  says, 
"he  was  so  unceremoniously  and  unjustly  strick- 
£n  down.11 

This  whole  matter  has  been  wrapped  in  obscu- 
rity, and  all  kinds  of  reports  concerning  it  obtained 
circulation,  and  the  truth  has  never  been  fully 
known  until  brought  to  light  by  Col.  Badeau.  One 
of  these  reports,  which  was  generally  credited,  was 
that  Grant,  soon  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Don- 
elson,  was  placed  under  arrest  by  orders  from 
Washington.  Various  reasons  were  given  for  this 
summary  action,  and  one  was,  that  Grant  was 
intoxicated  on  board  the  flag-ship  while  the  battle 
was  raging. 

We  now,  however,  can  trace  the  origin  of  this 
generally  believed  strange  report.  Halleck,  in 
a  letter  to  him,  in  which  he  endeavors  to  show 
that  he  was  innocent  of  the  disgrace  inflicted 
on  him,  says,  that  he  had  received  an  order  from 
McClellan,  to  arrest  him.  The  question  naturally 
arises,  why  was  not  that  order,  if  issued,  obeyed? 


96  LIFE  OF   GRANT. 

But  Col.  Badeau  says,  that  no  such  order  is  on 
record  or  can  be  found  in  the  ^ar  Department, 
and  farther,  that  the  Secretary  of  War  never 
heard  that  such  an  order  was  issued.  As  it  never 
was  executed— has  never  seen  the  light,  and  can- 
not be  found  in  the  place  where  it  ought  to  be, 
and  no  remembrance  of  such  an  important  trans- 
action remains  in  the  War  Department,  we  must 
be  allowed  to  express  a  doubt  if  McClellan  ever 
gave  such  an  order  at  all. 

Ignorant  of  all  this  plotting  and  persecution, 
the  people  were  sounding  Grant's  praises  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  the  swelling 
tide  of  public  feeling  was  being  felt  in  Washing- 
ton, and  threatened  to  sweep  away  all  this  nicely 
balanced  machinery  and  curious  network,  that 
had  been  woven  in  the  dark.  It  was  hazardous 
to  attempt  to  stem  this  popular  current,  and 
Halleck  doubtless  felt  so,  when  he  concluded  to 
abandon  his  persecution  of  Grant,  and  outwardly, 
by  restoring  him  to  his  command,  placed  affairs 
on  a  friendly  footing. 


CHAPTER  Vi. 

sniLon. 

Position  of  the  Army  on  the  Tennessee — Located  at  Pittsburgh 
Landing  and  Savannah — Reasons  for  it — Grant  restored  to  Lis 
command,  and  takes  up  his  Headquarters  at  Savannah — Buell 
ordered  to  join  him  with  forty  thousand  men — Grant  forbidden 
to  give  battle — Concentration  of  the  Enemy  at  Corinth — Threat- 
ening Demonstrations  of  the  Enemy —Accident  to  Grant — 
Fierce  and  unexpected  onset  of  the  Enemy — The  Battle — Sur- 
render of  Prentiss— Gallantry  of  Sherman — Arrival  of  Grant 
on  the  Battle  Field — His  orders  to  Nelson  and  Wallace  to  push 
forward  to  his  aid — They  fail  to  arrive — The  Army  driven  back 
to  the  River  —  Arrival  of  Buell  —  The  Gunboats  —  Night  —  A 
Storm — BuelPs  army  got  into  position — Grant  sleeps  on  the 
field— The  Second  Day's  Battle — Grant  heads  a  charge — The 
Victory — Correspondence  with  Beauregard — Causes  of  First 
Day's  Defeat — Defence  of  Grant — Outcry  against  him. 

WHILE  Grant  was  in  disgrace,  Smith,  whom 
Halleck  had  put  in  his  place,  proceeded  up  the 
Tennessee  with  the  army  to  cut  the  great  railroad 
near  it  at  Corinth  ;  but  accomplishing  nothing  of 
importance,  returned  to  Pittsburgh  Landing,  on 
the  western  bank  of  the  river,  and  there  disem- 
barked a  part  of  his  troops.  The  original  and 
proper  plan  was  to  land  at  Savannah,  a  few  miles 
lower  down,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
where  the  remaining  portion  of  the  army  did  en- 


98  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

camp.  The  reason  given  for  this  change  was,  that 
a  rapid  movement  inland,  in  the  desired  direction, 
could  be  more  easily  made  from  that  bank  than 
from  the  other ;  as  the  transportation  of  troops 
across  would  necessarily  consume  a  considerable 
time.  This  advantage,  however,  would  not  weigh 
against  the  peril  of  having  the  army  divided  by 
the  river.  Probably  the  fact  that  the  bluff  on 
which  the  landing  was  made  was  admirably  fitted 
for  a  defensive  position,  was  another  reason.  Two 
streams,  one  north  and  the  other  south  of  it, 
flowed  almost  at  right  angles  into  the  Tennessee, 
thus  rendering  it  an  easy  matter  for  Smith  to  pro- 
tect his  flanks — in  fact,  from  the  flooded  state  of 
the  banks  at  this  time,  making  an  attack,  except 
in  front,  almost  impossible.  Even  in  this  latter 
direction  nature  had  helped  to  defend  this  excel- 
lent position  ;  for  Owl  Creek  ran  along  a  portion 
of  it  parallel  to  the  Tennessee  river,  and  emptied 
nearly  at  right  angles  into  Snake  Creek,  which 
bounded  the  bluff  on  the  north.  But  Corinth  lay 
right  west,  within  striking  distance,  and  common 
prudence  required  that  to  make  the  position  se- 
cure, strong  defences  should  be  thrown  up.  This, 
however,  was  not  done — a  neglect  the  more  singu- 
lar, since  Corinth,  the  objective  point  of  the 
campaign,  and  the  key  to  the  whole  railroad  sygh 
tern  connecting  Tennessee  and  Mississippi,  wai 
known  to  be  occupied  by  the  enemy  in  force. 


CONCENTRATES   HIS   TROOPS.  99 

Halleck,  as  we  have  stated,  restored  Grant  on 
the  13th  of  March  to  bis  command,  and  four  days 
after  the  latter  took  up  his  headquarters  at  Sa- 
vannah, about  nine  miles  below  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing. Nearly  half  of  the  army  was  at  the  former 
place,  and  Grant  saw  at  once  the  peril  of  having 
the  two  portions  nine  miles  apart,  and  separated 
besides  by  a  broad  and  swollen  river.  Hence 
within  an  hour  after  his  arrival  he  ordered  Smith 
and  McClernand,  who  commanded  the  force  at 
Savannah,  to  proceed  at  once  to  Pittsburg  Land- 
ing. In  the  mean  time,  Halleck,  hearing  of  the 
concentration  of  rebel  troops  at  Corinth,  had  di- 
rected Buell,  in  Central  Tennessee,  to  effect  a 
junction  with  Grant  at  Pittsburg  Landing.  His 
army  numbered  nearly  forty  thousand,  and  the 
distance  from  Columbia,  his  starting-point,  to  the 
Tennessee  river,  was  some  ninety  miles.  But  it 
was  early  spring,  and  the  streams  being  flooded 
made  it  impossible  to  calculate  with  any  accuracy 
how  much  time  it  would  take  to  make  the  march. 

In  the  mean  time,  Halleck  telegraphed  Grant  to 
avoid  battle  unless  it  was  forced  upon  him — in 
short,  to  act  solely  on  the  defensive,  until  the  arri- 
val of  BuelL  This  was  contrary  to  the  judgment 
of  Grant,  who  thought  a  blow  should  be  struck 
at  once,  before  the  concentration  of  the  enemy 
could  be  effected. 

For  nearly  three  weeks  the  army  lay  idle  here, 


100  IJFE   OF   GRANT. 

while  the  hostile  forces  were  rapidly  accumula- 
ting. By  the  second  of  April,  Johnston,  their 
commander,  saw  that  he  must  strike  before  the 
arrival  of  Buell,  of  whose  approach  he  was  made 
aware  by  his  scouts,  if  he  wished  to  succeed,  and 
he  began  to  feel  our  line  with  his  skirmishers. 

On  the  4th,  a  heavy  force  appeared  in  our  front, 
and  for  a  time  a  serious  engagement  seemed  immi- 
nent. Several  rebel  prisoners  were  taken,  who  said 
that  the  "  Yankees  would  catch  hell  soon."  Still, 
this  was  thought  to  be  an  idle  threat,  and  no 
notice  was  taken  of  it.  The  next  day,  Grant  rode 
out  to  the  front  and  investigated  the  matter. 
Both  he  and  Sherman  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  there  was  no  appearance  or  probability  of  an 
immediate  battle.  Grant  did  not  return  to  the 
landing  until  after  dark.  It  was  raining  at  the 
time,  and  his  horse  slipping  on  a  log,  fell  upon 
him,  which  lamed  him  for  several  days,  and 
caused  him  a  good  deal  of  suffering. 

The  demonstration  of  the  enemy  this  day  was 
not  confined  to  our  forces  at  Pittsburg  Landing. 
Lewis  Wallace,  with  Smith's  division,  iive  miles 
farther  down  stream,  reported  a  heavy  force  in 
his  direction.  The  truth  was,  the  enemy  was 
making  a  reconnoissance  with  view  to  an  attack. 
The  next  day,  a  heavy  column  of  cavalry  pushed 
boldly  up  to  Sherman's  front,  yet  still  he  did  not 
think  any  thing  serious  was  intended,  while  Grant 


THE    ONSET.  101 

felt  stronger  by  the  arrival  of  Nelson's  division 
of  Buell's  army  at  Savannah.  He  had  been  very 
anxious  -for  the  arrival  of  these  troops,  and  now 
directed  Nelson  to  take  position  at  a  point  about 
five  iniies  from  Savannah,  and  hold  himself  ready 
to  march  at  a  moment's  notice.  He  himself  de- 
signed the  next  day  to  remove  his  own  head- 
quarters to  Pittsburg  Landing — putting  it  off  till 
then  at  the  request  of  Buell,  who  had  informed 
him  that  he  would  arrive  at  Savannah  that  day. 

The  next  morning,  however,  came  the  battle. 
Johnston  had  learned  by  his  reconnoissance  that 
our  forces  had  thrown  up  no  entrenchments,  but 
that  the  flanks  were  so  well  protected  by  streams 
and  ravines,  that  an  attack  could  not  be  made 
there.  Hence  he  determined  to  move  right  down 
in  front,  in  one  overwhelming  charge.  Sherman's 
division  was  in  advance,  near  the  Shiloh  church. 
On  his  left,  but  farther  back,  McClernand  was 
posted.  Then  came  Prentiss,  more  up  to  Sher- 
man's line,  while  on  the  extreme  left  was  Stuart, 
commanding  a  separate  brigade  of  Sherman's  di- 
vision, and  covering  the  crossing  of  Lick  Creek. 
Hurlbut  was  in  reserve. 

The  constant  skirmishing  for  the  last  few  days 
had  put  the  officers  on  the  alert,  and  though  it 
was  only  just  daybreak,  the  horses  of  many  were 
saddled  while  they  sat  down  to  breakfast.  Every 
thing  seemed  quiet,  when  suddenly,  as  a  clap  of 


102  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

thunder,  the  onset  came.  Pr6ntiss  first  caught 
the  fury  of  the  bursting  storm,  which  soon  swept 
along  the  entire  front.  Not  cautiously,  as  if  feel- 
ing their  way,  did  the  heavy  columns  come  on, 
but  in  dark  masses,  like  fast  following  waves, 
broke  over  the  camps.  A  scene  of  indescribable 
confusion  followed.  From  the  very  outset,  the 
battle  on  our  part  was  without  plan  or  cohesion, 
while  the  rebel  general  held  his  army  completely 
in  hand,  and  hurled  it  with  skill,  boldness,  and 
irresistible  power,  on  any  point  he  wished  to 
strike.  Prentiss,  in  the  centre,  after  striving  in 
vain  to  bear  up  against  the  flood,  was  surrounded 
and  compelled  to  surrender,  with  some  three 
thousand  or  more  of  his  troops.  Sherman  and 
McClernand  fought  with  their  accustomed  brav- 
ery, but  they  could  hold  only  a  portion  of  their 
troops  to  the  deadly  work.  Stuart  was  cut  off 
from  the  main  army,  and  compelled  to  fight  his 
own  battle.  Cavalry  charged  hither  and  thither 
over  the  tumultuous  field,  riding  down  our  disor- 
dered troops ;  while  our  batteries  were  swept  by 
the  hostile  flood,  and  the  broken,  disjointed  army 
was  borne  steadily  back  toward  the  Tennessee. 
Sherman,  awake  to  the  peril  of  the  army,  clung  to 
each  position  with  the  tenacity  of  death,  and  rode 
amid  the  hail-storm  of  bullets  as  though  he  had 
forgotten  he  had  a  life  to  lose.  Horse  after  horse 
sunk  under  him  j  he  himself  was  struck  agaic 


THE   BATTLJL  103 

and  again ;  and  yet  he  not  only  kept  the  field, 
but  blazed  like  a  meteor  over  it.  At  noon  of  that 
Sabbath  day,  he  was  dismounted — his  hand  in  a 
sling, — and  bleeding,  giving  directions  to  his  chief 
of  artillery,  while  it  was  one  incessant  crash  and 
roar  all  around  him.  Suddenly  he  saw,  to  the 
right,  his  men  giving  way  before  a  cloud  of  rebels. 
"I  was  looking  for  that,"  he  exclaimed.  The 
next  moment  the  battery  he  had  been  placing  in 
position  opened,  sending  death  and  destruction 
into  the  close-packed  ranks.  The  rebel  com- 
mander, glancing  at  the  battery,  ordered  the  cav- 
alry to  charge  it.  Seeing  them  coming  down, 
Sherman  quickly  ordered  up  two  companies  of 
infantry,  which,  pouring  hi  a  deadly  volley,  sent 
them  to  the  right  about  with  empty  saddles.  The 
onset  was  arrested,  and  our  troops  rallied  with 
renewed  courage.  Hurlbut  moved  up  with  his 
reserves,  and  gave  Sherman  breathing  space. 

In  the  mean  time,  in  the  very  heat  of  battle, 
Grant  came  on  a  driving  gallop  to  the  front,  and 
at  once  complimented  Sherman  on  the  gallant 
stand  he  had  made.  Sherman,  in  reply,  asked  for 
cartridges.  "  They  are  on  the  way,"  replied  Grant. 
Knowing  from  the  rapid  and  incessant  firing,  that 
he  had  heard  ever  since  daybreak,  that  ammuni- 
tion must  be  giving  out,  he  had  ordered  it  forward 
as  he  hurried  to  the  front. 

He  and  his  staff  at  Savannah,  were  taking  an 


104  LEPK   OF  GEANT. 

early  breakfast,  preparatory  to  riding  out  to  meet 
Buell,  who  was  near  at  hand,  when  the  first  roar 
of  artillery  arrested  his  attention.  At  first  he 
thought  it  was  only  a  repetition  of  the  skirmishing 
that  had  been  going  on  for  several  days.  But  as 
the  thunder  swelled  louder  and  louder,  and  peal 
after  peal  shook  the  shores,  he  knew  that  a  battle 
was  raging,  and  crying,  u  to  horse,"  galloped  down 
to  the  landing.  Before  starting,  however,  he  de- 
spatched a  hasty  note  to  Buell,  telling  him  that 
heavy  firing  up  the  river  showed  that  the  army 
was  attacked.  To  Nelson,  he  sent  orders  to  move 
his  division  up  opposite  Pittsburg  Landing  with- 
out delay.  Pushing  up  the  river  himself  in  a 
steamer,  he  stopped  at  Crump's  landing  just  long 
enough  to  tell  Wallace,  in  person,  to  be  ready  to 
march  at  a  moment's  notice. 

.As  the  boat  touched  the  shore  at  Pittsburg 
Landing,  the  din  of  battle  was  terrific,  and  already 
fugitives  were  flying  from  the  field.  When  he 
reached  the  front  and  saw  how  terrific  was  the 
onset,  and  that  his  army  was  wavering,  he  at  once 
sent  an  aid  as  fast  as  he  could  ride,  to  Crump's 
landing,  five  miles  distant,  with  orders  to  Wallace 
to  hurry  his  division  forward  to  the  field.  To  Nel- 
son he  wrote,  "  Hurry  up  your  command  as  fast. 
as  possible.  Push  forward — boats  will  be  in 
readiness  to  transport  you  across."  Having  done 
this  he  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  keeping 


ANXIOUS   MOMENTS.  105 

the  heavy  masses  that  surged  so  fiercely  up  against 
his  shaking  line  at  bay,  till  those  reinforcements 
could  arrive.  The  field  was  wooded,  with  patches 
of  cultivation  between,  so  that  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  get  any  commanding  view  of  it,  and 
manoeuvre  the  army  as  a  whole.  In  fact,  there 
was  no  time  for  it.  The  rebel  attack  was  so  steady 
and  persistent,  that  each  division  simply  attempted 
to  hold  its  ground.  Grant,  smoking  his  cigar  with 
imperturbable  coolness,  moved  from  point  to  point, 
along  the  front,  giving  such  directions  as  the  emer- 
gency seemed  to  require. 

As  the  decimated  army,  maintaining  a  deter- 
mined though  shattered  front,  still  kept  falling 
back  towards  the  river,  Grant  cast  his  eye  anxiously 
in  the  direction  where  the  heads  of  Nelson's  and 
Wallace's  columns  should  appear,  but  nothing  met 
his  gaze  but  crowds  of  stragglers  fleeing  to  the 
rear.  Wallace,  at  least,  should  have  been  there 
long  since,  but  strange  to  say,  his  division  was 
wandering  about  lost,  though  only  five  miles  from 
the  field  of  battle,  whose  uproar  loaded  the  Sab- 
bath air. 

Though  nearly  half  of  his  army  had  melted 
away — either  prisoners,  killed,  or  straggling — the 
other  half  still  faced  the  foe,  and  met  his  fierce, 
determined  onsets  as  the  ro^k  meets  the  wave. 
But  this  could  not  last  long — he  must  have  rein- 
forcements, or  the  brave  heroes  that  refused  to  fly, 
6* 


106  LOTS   OF  GBAKT. 

but,  with  every  backward  step,  dealt  a  staggering 
blow,  would  soon  be  overpowered;  and  hearing 
that  another  of  BuelTs  divisions  had  reached 
Savannah,  he  sent  a  staff  officer,  with  desperate 
speed,  to  him,  with  the  order :  "  You  will  move 
your  command  with  the  utmost  despatch,  to  the 
river  at  this  point,  where  steamboats  will  be  in 
readiness  to  transport  you  to  Pittsburgh  But  the 
peril  deepening  every  moment,  he  could  not  wait 
his  return,  but  sent  off  another  officer  with  the 
following  still  more  urgent  order :  "  Commanding 
officer,  advance  forces,  BuelFs  army,  near  Pitts- 
burg:  The  attack  on  my  forces  has  been  very 
spirited  from  early  this  morning.  The  appearance 
of  fresh  troops  in  the  field  now,  would  have  a 
powerful  effect,  both  by  inspiring  our  men  and 
disheartening  the  enemy.  If  you  will  get  upon 
the  field,  leaving  all  your  baggage  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  river,  it  will  be  more  to  our  advantage, 
and  possibly  save  the  day  to  us.  The  rebel  forces 
are  estimated  at  over  one  hundred  thousand  men. 
My  headquarters  will  be  in  the  log  building  on 
the  top  of  the  hill,  where  you  will  be  furnished  with 
a  staff  officer  to  guide  you  to  your  place  in  the 
field."  Matters  were  getting  desperate,  and  he 
counted  the  moments  when  the  forces,  so  pressingly 
needed,  would  arrive.  Still  none  came  ;  but  about 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  Buell,  accompanied 
only  by  his  staff,  rode  up  the  bluff.  Beaching 


A   LAST  EFFORT.  107 

Savannah,  and  finding  Grant  gone,  while  inces- 
sant explosions  of  artillery  shook  the  shore,  he 
knew  a  terrific  battle  was  raging,  and  leaving  the 
division  he  was  accompanying  to  follow  on,  hur- 
ried forward  alone.  The  sight  that  met  his  gaze 
as  he  landed,  astonished  him.  The  banks  were 
black  with  fugitives,  who  crowded  down  to  the 
water's  edge  for  safety.  His  first  impression  was 
that  Grant's  army  was  gone  beyond  recovery  unless 
it  could  be  placed  across  the  river,  and  wait  till 
his  own  could  come  up,  and  he  asked,  "What 
provisions  have  you  made  for  a  retreat  ?  "  Grant 
replied,  "  I  don't  despair  of  whipping  them  yet." 
Buell  now  sent  off  officer  after  officer,  to  hurry  up 
the  tired  columns.  In  the  mean  time,  the  battle 
raged  with  increased  ferocity;  while  still  back 
toward  the  river,  yet  still  facing  the  foe,  slowly  re- 
tired the  diminished  columns.  Although  Johnson 
had  fallen,  he  was  succeeded  by  Beauregard,  who 
saw  that  but  one  more  success  was  necessary  to 
drive  our  army  into  the  Tennessee — carry  the  ravine 
that  covered  Sherman's  left,  and  thus  in  fact  the 
landing  itself.  This  done,  and  the  battle  would 
be  over.  Grant,  too,  saw  this,  and  put  forth  a  last 
desperate  effort  to  prevent  it.  The  gunboats  Tyler 
and  Lexington  could  now  join  in  the  fight,  and 
their  ponderous  shells  went  screaming  up  this 
ravine,  bursting  with  the  sound  of  thunder  amid 
the  astonished  enemy,  and  his  frantic  attempts  to 


108  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

clear  the  ravine  were  without  avail  In  the  mean 
time,  Nelson's  division  had  crossed  and  formed  in 
line  of  battle,  and  poured  in  a  volley.  The  enemy, 
exhausted  by  the  protracted  struggle,  and  now 
met  by  new  foes,  sullenly  retired,  while  the  shad- 
ows of  evening  stole  over  the  landscape.  Soon, 
darkness  wrapped  the  two  armies,  that  sank  to 
rest  on  the  torn  and  trampled  field. 

Grant  now  felt  the  heavy  burden,  that  had  in- 
creased with  every  revolving  hour,  lift  from  his 
heart.  It  was  evident  that  nothing  more  could  be 
done  till  morning ;  and  by  that  time  he  would 
have  forty  thousand  fresh  troops  in  the  field,  while 
his  adversary  could  bring  none.  That  morning, 
he  determined,  should  witness  a  terrible  retribu- 
tion for  the  disaster  of  the  day  just  ended. 

Troops  that  had  marched  all  day  were  now, 
without  rest,  crossed  over,  and  every  preparation 
made  to  recommence  the  struggle  at  daylight. 

Stretching  far  back  in  the  gloom  lay  the  battle 
field,  covered  with  the  dead  and  dying,  uncared- 
for — alone  with  the  night.  To  make  it  still  more 
appalling,  a  heavy  storm  arose,  while  ever  and 
anon  the  inky  clouds  were  ribbed  with  blazing 
shells  that  the  gunboats  sent  at  short  intervals 
within  the  enemy's  lines.  These,  at  length,  set 
the  woods  on  fire,  that,  flashing  up  here  and  there, 
cast  a  baleful  light  on  the  murky  landscape.  The 
rain  fell  in  torrents,  the  only  messenger  of  mercy 


A   GLOOMY    NIGHT.  109 

to  the  wounded,  burning  with  thirst,  that  covered 
the  ensanguined  field. 

Grant,  with  his^^/bng  nature  fully  aroused1 
could  not  thi^grt  rest,  but  amid  the  driving  storm 
passed  from  division  to  division,  visiting  each 
commander  in  turn,  and  leaving  specific  orders  for 
the  attack,  which  he  had  determined  should  com- 
mence with  the  Corning  light  His  directions 
were,  at  daybreak  to  commence  with  a  heavy 
skirmish  line,  and  then,  leaving  no  reserve,  ad- 
vance with  the  entire  force  and  sweep  the  field. 

At  length  all  his  arrangements  were  completed, 
and  near  midnight  he  rode  slowly  back  to  the 
landing,  and  dismounting,  stretched  himself  on 
the  ground,  and  with  his  head  resting  on  a  stump, 
composed  himself  to  sleep.  The  pitiless  rain 
beat  on  him,  drenching  him  to  the  skin,  but  he 
only  thought  of  the  coming  victory.  He  sought 
no  shelter,  but  slept  as  his  brave  troops  slept,  un- 
covered to  the  storm. 

The  battle  recommenced  at  daylight,  and  al- 
though wearied  out  with  the  struggle  of  the  day 
before,  and  outnumbered  more  than  two  to  one, 
the  enemy  fought  bravely,  and  stubbornly  con- 
tested every  inch  of  ground.  Reluctant  to  give 
up  the  victory  that  had  been  almost  within  their 
reach,  they  slowly,  sullenly  retired  over  the  field 
they  had  won.  But  the  success  on  our  side  was 
as  steady  as  it  had  been  on  that  of  the  other  the 


110  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

day  before.  Our  camps  were  soon  once  more  in 
our  possession,  and  the  disciplined  battalions 
of  Buell  pushed  the  enemy  back  until  he  was  at 
last  forced  to  retreat  to  Cormfn^^yiiig  Brecken 
ridge,  with  his  division,  as  a  rear  giS&d.  Colonel 
Badeau  relates  the  following  incident,  which  is 
new.  He  says: 

"  Near  the  close  of  the  day,  Grant  met  the  First 
Ohio  regiment  marching  towards  the  northern 
part  of  the  field,  and  immediately  in  front  of  a 
position  which  it  was  important  to  take  at  that 
particular  juncture  ;  another  regiment  to  the  left 
was  fighting  hard,  but  about  to  yield— had,  in  fact, 
given  way.  Grant  saw  the  emergency,  and  instantly 
halted  the  passing  force  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  the 
enemy  lying  in  a  wood  at  its  base ;  he  changed 
the  direction  of  the  First  Ohio,  and  himself  or- 
dered it  to  charge,  in  support  of  the  yielding  bat> 
talion.  The  men  recognized  their  leader,  and 
obeyed  with  enthusiasm,  and  Grant  rode  along 
with  them  in  the  line  of  battle,  as  much  exposed 
as  any  private  in  the  ranks.  The  retreating 
troops  on  the  left  took  courage  at  this  sight ;  they 
stopped  their  backward  movement,  closed  up 
their  wavering  ranks  with  cheers,  and  the  two 
regiments  swept  the  enemy  at  once  from  the  cov- 
eted spot,  thus  capturing  one  of  the  last  important 
positions  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh." 

Grant,  who  never  seems  to  know  fatigue,  wished 


RESULT  OF  THE  BATTLE.         Ill 

to  press  the  retreating  rebels  still  further,  but  his 
own  troops  were  too  much  exhausted,  while 
McCook  and  Crittenden,  whom  he  appealed  to,  re- 
plied that  their  soldiers  had  marched  all  the  day 
before,  and  been  on  the  move  a  great  part  of  the 
night,  and  now  having  fought  all  day  were  in  no 
condition  to  pursue,  especially  as  the  rain  was  fall- 
ing in  torrents,  making  the  fields  very  heavy; 
and  so  he  had  reluctantly  to  abandon  his  purpose, 
and  turn  his  entire  attention  to  the  care  of  the 
wounded,  of  which  there  were  over  eight  thousand 
of  his  own,  besides  those  which  the  enemy  had 
left  behind  in  their  retreat.  His  total  loss  was 
twelve  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventeen. 
That  of  the  enemy  nearly  11,000. 

The  next  day  Beauregard,  under  a  flag  of  truce, 
sent  the  following  communication  to  Grant : 

HE  ADQUAKTEliS,  AfiMY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  ) 

M<mday,  April  8,  1862.     $ 

Sra :  At  the  close  of  the  conflict  yesterday,  my  forces 
being  exhausted  by  the  extraordinary  length  of  time 
during  which  they  were  engaged  with  yours  on  that 
and  the  preceding  day,  and  it  being  apparent  that  you 
had  received  and  were  still  receiving  reinforcements,  I 
felt  it  my  duty  to  withdraw  my  troops  from  the  imme- 
diate scene  of 'conflict. 

Under  these  circumstances,  in  accordance  with  usages 
of  war,  I  shall  transmit  this  under  a  flag  of  truce,  to  ask 
permission  to  send  a  mounted  party  to  the  battle-field 
of  Shiloh,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  decent  interment  to 
my  dead. 

Certain  gentlemen  wishing  to  avail  themselves  of  thu 


112  LITE   OF   GRANT. 

to  remove  the  remains  of  their  sons  and  friends,  I  mnst 
request  for  them  the  privilege  of  accompanying  the 
burial  party  ;  and  in  this  connection,  1  deem  it  proper 
to  say,  I  am  only  asking  what  I  have  extended  to  your 
own  countrymen,  under  similar  circumstances. 
General,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

G.  T.  BEATJREGARD, 

General  Commanding. 
To  Major-General  U.  S.  GRANT,  commanding 

United  States  forces  near  Pitteburg,  Tenn. 

To  this  Grant  replied  as  follows : 

HEADQTTABTERS,  AEMY  IN  THE  FIELD,  > 
PITTSBUBG,  April  9,  1862.     J 

General  G.  T.  BEATJREGARD,  commanding 

Confederate  Army  of  the  Mississippi, 
Monterey,  Tenn. : 

GENERAL  :  Your  despatch  of  yesterday  just  received- 
Owing  to  the  warmth  of  the  weather,  I  deemed  it  ad- 
visable to  have  all  the  dead  of  both  parties  buried  im- 
mediately. Heavy  details  were  made  for  this  purpose, 
and  it  is  now  accomplished.  There  cannot  therefore  be 
any  necessity  of  admitting  within  our  lines  the  parties 
you  desire  to  send  on  the  grounds  asked.  I  shall  al- 
ways be  glad  to  extend  any  courtesy  consistent  with 
duty,  especially  so  when  dictated  by  humanity. 
I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GKAJTT,  Major-GeneraL 

Much  has  been  written  about  this  battle,  and 
of  a  very  contradictory  character.  It  will  be  read- 
ily seen  by  the  above  account,  that  Grant  can  hi 
no  way  be  held  responsible  for  the  location  of  the 
army  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  for  which  he 


BAD   MANAGEMENT.  113 

was  so  severely  blamed.  It  is  true,  he  became 
responsible  for  its  remaining  in  that  dangerous 
position,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  its  re- 
moval would  be  an  implied  censure,  both  on  his 
friend  Smith,  whom  he  had  superseded,  (an  old 
soldier,  and  his  commandant  at  West  Point,)  and 
also  on  his  superior,  Halleck,  who  had  made  no 
objection  to  this  disposition  of  the  army.  Under 
these  circumstances,  we  do  not  see  how  he  could 
well  have  done  differently;  besides,  neither  he 
nor  Sherman  expected  an  attack  before  the 
arrival  of  BuelL  There  was  a  grave  error  com- 
mitted by  the  commanders  in  front,  in  not  throw- 
ing up  works,  and  constructing  abatis  from  the 
trees,  of  which  there  was  abundance  on  the  spot. 
Had  this  been  done,  the  disasters  of  that  day 
would,  hi  all  human  probability,  have  been 
averted.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  explain  away 
or  excuse  this  neglect.  The  attempt  to  prove 
that  the  battle  might  have  been  renewed  the  next 
day,  with  any  prospect  of  success,  but  for  the 
arrival  of  Buell,  is  simply  absurd;  for,  with  a 
fresh  army  of  forty  thousand  men,  we  only  re- 
gained the  field,  nothing  more.  All  the  great 
military  names,  and  all  the  military  science  in 
the  country,  can  never  make  such  an  assertion 
an  historic  fact.  Desaix  did  not  save  Napoleon 
at  Marengo,  more  than  Buell  did  Grant  at 
Shilok 


114  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

The  outcry  raised  against  Grant,  for  being,  as 
it  was  asserted,  surprised  and  so  severely  beaten 
the  first  day,  was  great.  West,  it  was  terrific. 
Congressmen  and  Governors  demanded  his  remo- 
val ;  and  it  seemed,  for  a  time,  as  if  he  would  be 
swept  away  by  the  flood  of  denunciations.  All 
sorts  of  charges  were  preferred  against  him. 
The  more  absurd  they  were,  the  more  they 
were  believed. 

Grant,  however,  had  one  friend  in  Mr.  Wash- 
burn,  the  Member  of  Congress  from  Illinois, 
who  defended  him  in  a  noble  speech. 

Afterwards,  when  Grant  had  reached  the  pin- 
nacle of  fame,  his  Mends  went  just  as  far  in  the 
other  extreme,  and  asserted,  and  tried  to  prove 
that,  in  the  first  place,  it  was  a  capital  plan  to 
have  the  Tennessee  river  divide  the  forces  ;  equal- 
ly good  tactics  not  to  throw  up  breastworks.  In 
the  third  place,  there  was  no  surprise,  although 
officers  were  at  breakfast  when  the  onset  came ; 
and  in  the  last  place,  that,  although  BuelFs  ar- 
rival was  very  opportune,  it  was  not  of  vital  con- 
sequence. 

The  effort  to  make  a  man  just  as  perfect  and 
infallible  in  judgment,  at  the  outset  of  his  career, 
as  he  was  after  years  of  actual  experience,  may 
show  kindly  feelings,  but  not  common  sense. 
Grant  was  not  like  so  many  of  the  ignorant,  con- 
edited  coxcombs  who  had  charge  of  our  troops,  &nl 


COMMON   SENSE.  115 

believed  they  possessed  all  needed  military  knowL 
edge,  before  they  ever  set  a  division  in  the  field. 
Like  all  great  men,  he  could  rise  to  the  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed,  but  would  not 
pretend  he  never  made  a  mistake. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

CORINTH,  IUKA,  AND   VICKSBIJBa 

flalleck  takes  Chief  Ooramand — Again  disgraces  Grant — Uncom- 
plaining Conduct  of  the  latter — Abused  by  Correspondents  of 
the  Press — His  calm  Reply  to  one — His  quiet,  dignified 
Behavior— Offers  Halleck  Good  Advice — Insulted  for  it — Hia 
Sharp  Retort — Evacuation  of  Corinth — An  Excellent  Illus- 
tration of  Halleck's  Strategy— Halleck  called  to  Washing- 
ton— Last  Attempt  to  disgrace  Grant — The  latter  makes 
Corinth  his  Headquarters — Order  respecting  Fugitive  Slave* 
— Severe  Order  to  the  People  of  Memphis — Receives  a  threat- 
ening Letter— Battle  of  luka — Of  Corinth— Sends  Sherman  to 
Attempt  the  Capture  of  Vicksburg — Causes  of  his  Failure — 
Plans  his  great  Expedition  against  the  Stronghold. 

HALLECK  shared  in  the  hostile  feeling  against 
Grant,  and  though  he  did  not  remove  him  from 
the  head  of  his  troops,  he  himself  repaired  to  the 
field  and  took  chief  command,  and,  in  reorgani- 
zing the  army,  gave  the  latter  a  position  which 
was  regarded  by  all  the  officers  as  one  of  disgrace. 
He  was  nominally  second  in  command ;  but  the 
army  was  divided  into  three  corps,  commanded 
by  Thomas,  Pope,  and  Buell,  with  the  reserve 
under  McClernand,  while  Grant's  Army  of  the 
Tennessee  was  distributed  between  the  right  wing 
and  the  reserve,  thus  actually  placing  him  under 
Thomas  and  McClernand.  Though  these  com- 
manders were  Grant's  subordinates,  yet  Halleck 


NEWSPAPER   CORRESPONDENTS.  117 

ignored  him  in  issuing  his  orders,  and  even 
moved  his  troops  without  his  knowledge.  Nothing 
could  be  more  painful  than  this  position,  yet  he 
bore  it  without  a  murmur,  quietly  doing  his  duty, 
and  leaving  it  for  time,  that  "sets  all  things  even," 
to  vindicate  him. 

The  camp  was  crowded  with  newspaper  cor- 
respondents, who,  having  nothing  else  to  do,  criti- 
cised or  praised  the  various  commanders  according 
to  their  own  inclinations.  Grant  came  in  for  the 
most  unsparing  abuse,  yet  he  uttered  no  com- 
plaint, made  no  defence.  Once,  and  once  only, 
he  broke  the  uninterrupted  silence  which  he 
seemed  determined  to  maintain.  One  of  the  cor- 
respondents had  denounced  him  with  most  unjust 
severity.  The  article  came  under  Grant's  eye, 
and  while  smarting  under  its  false,  unscrupulous 
aspersions  of  his  character,  he  met  the  writer. 
Instead,  however,  of  denouncing  him  as  he  de- 
served, he  simply  said,  "Your  paper  is  very 
unjust  to  me,  but  time  will  make  it  all  right  I 
want  to  be  judged  only  by  my  acts.11 

Says  another  correspondent,  "  When  the  army 
began  to  creep  forward,  I  messed  at  Grant's  head- 
quarters with  his  chief  of  staff,  and  around  the 
evening  camp-fires  I  saw  much  of  the  general. 
He  rarely  uttered  a  word  upon  the  political  bear- 
ings of  the  war;  indeed,  he  said  little  upon  any 
subject.  With  his  eternal  cigar,  and  his  head 


118  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

thrown  to  one  side,  for  hours  he  would  silently  sit 
before  the  fire,  or  walk  back  and  forth  with  eyes 
upon  the  ground,  or  look  at  our  whist-table,  now 
and  then  making  a  suggestion  about  the  play,  &c., 
&c.  At  almost  every  general  headquarters  one 
heard  denunciations  of  rival  commanders.  Grant 
was  above  this  4  mischievous,  foul  sin  of  chiding.1 
I  never  heard  him  speak  unkindly  of  a  brother 
officer." 

When  Halleck  had  completed  his  preparations, 
he  began  to  advance  toward  Corinth.  If  Grant 
had  not  used  the  spade  and  shovel  enough,  the 
former  now  made  up  for  it,  and  seemed  deter- 
mined to  dig  his  way  into  Corinth.  If  he  had 
staid  away  and  left  Grant  in  chief  command,  the 
latter  would  have  been  in  the  place  before  he  got 
half  way  there.  Grant  never  would  have  been  six 
weeks  advancing  fifteen  miles,  as  Halleck  was. 
He,  however,  made  no  suggestion,  offered  no  ad- 
vice, for  he  was  not  consulted.  Once,  and  once 
only,  he  broke  his  uniform  silence,  and  that  was 
when  the  army  finally  got  before  the  place.  Being 
at  headquarters  when  the  probability  of  the  enemy 
evacuating  it  was  under  consideration,  his  anxiety 
overcame  his  long  reticence,  and  he  advised  that 
an  assault  should  be  made  by  our  extreme  right) 
in  front  of  which  he  said  he  believed  the  enemy's 
defences  to  be  weak ;  and  when  they  were  carried, 
to  swing  up  the  left  and  sweep  the  field,  Hal- 


HALLECK'S  VICTORY.  119 

leek,  in  his  pompous  way,  ridiculed  the  sugges- 
tion, and  politely  intimated  that  it  would  be  time 
for  him  to  give  his  opinion  when  it  was  asked. 
This  was  more  than  Grant  could  patiently  endure, 
and  he  replied  so  sharply  and  sarcastically,  that 
he  expected  to  be  called  to  account  for  it,  but  the 
result  so  demonstrated  the  justice  of  his  opinions, 
that  Halleck  was  quite  willing  to  let  it  pass  unno- 
ticed. 

At  last,  on  the  30th  of  May,  Halleck  declared 
that  the  enemy  was  about  to  attack,  and  drew  up 
his  army  of  seventy  thousand  men,  and  planted  his 
batteries,  to  await  the  coming  shock.  But  it  never 
came,  and  when  the  army  finally  advanced,  nothing 
but  an  empty  town  and  wooden  guns  were  found 
to  capture.  Beauregard  had  not  only  got  off  with 
his  army,  but  with  all  his  war  material — in  fact, 
every  thing  he  wanted  to  carry  away.  Blank 
faces  looked  on  each  other  as  the  tidings  travelled 
down  the  line,  while  a  faint  smile  lighted  up  the 
countenance  of  Grant,  at  this  illustration  of  Hal- 
leek's  grand  strategy.  He  saw  as  clearly  as  any 
one  the  importance  of  seizing  great  strategic 
points,  but  he  knew  that  the  mere  occupation  of 
points  in  such  a  vast  and  diversified  country  as 
ours,  would  never  end  the  war.  Armies  must  be 
taken,  as  well  as  places.  He  was  too  slow  once 
(at  Fort  Henry),  but  ever  after  he  captured  men 
as  well  as  strategic  points.  With  Fort  Donelson, 


120  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

Vicksburg,  and  Richmond,  he  took  whole    ar- 
mies. 

When  the  mighty  host  of  Halleck  entered  the 
deserted  works  of  Corinth,  Grant  rode  over  to  the 
defences  opposite  our  right  to  see  if  they  were 
as  weak  as  he  had  imagined.  Actual  observation 
proved  the  correctness  of  his  judgment,  a.nd  he 
saw,  with  mortification,  what  a  splendid  victory 
had  in  all  probability  been  lost  to  the  Union  cause. 

After  a  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  which  proved 
barren  of  results,  Halleck  broke  up  his  army  to 
secure  some  more  strategic  points,  and  finally,  in 
July,  was  called  to  Washington,  to  take  the  place 
of  McClellan,  where  he  only  repeated  over  again 
the  blunders  he  had  committed  West.  His  last 
act,  before  leaving,  was  to  offer  the  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  to  Col.  Al- 
len, a  quartermaster,  who  had  the  good  sense 
to  decline  it.  It  was  a  fitting  culmination  to 
his  career  West,  that  his  last  act  should  be  an 
attempt  to  further  disgrace  the  only  commander 
who  had  shed  lustre  on  his  administration,  and 
won  victories,  the  honor  of  which  he  was  not 
averse  to  share. 

Grant,  however,  retained  his  command,  and 
was  directed  to  make  Corinth  his  headquarters. 
But  he  was  unable  to  initiate  any  movements 
against  the  enemy,  for  two  divisions  of  his  army 
were  taken  from  him  and  given  to  Buell,  who  was 


,      A   SEVERE    ORDER.  121 

endeavoring  to  advance  to  Chattanooga.  Ilia 
chief  occupation  was  to  hold  the  railroad  running 
north  from  that  place  and  Bolivar,  to  Columbus 
— a  kind  of  campaigning  not  at  all  suited  to  one 
of  his  aggressive  nature.  He  was  more  fitted  to 
open  communications,  than  to  protect  those  which 
others  had  opened.  He  remained  here,  however, 
two  months,  watching  Van  Dorn  and  Price,  who 
constantly  hovered  around  him. 

While  here,  he  issued  an  order,  directing  that 
fugitive  slaves,  coming  within  his  lines,  should  be 
employed  in  the  quartermaster's,  subsistence,  and 
engineer's  departments — also,  when  by  such  em- 
ployment a  soldier  might  be  saved  to  the  ranks  of 
the  army — as  teamsters,  cooks,  hospital  attendants, 
and  nurses. 

Memphis  having  fallen  before  our  gunboats, 
came  also  within  his  jurisdiction,  and  caused  him 
no  little  trouble.  The  inhabitants,  though  con- 
quered, continued  their  treasonable  practices,  and 
kept  up  a  constant  communication  and  traffic  with 
the  enemy  South.  Ascertaining  this,  and  finding 
that  his  leniency  only  provoked  more  daring  acts 
of  hostility,  he  at  length  issued  the  following 
severe  order : 

DISTBIOT  OF  WEST  TENNESSEE,  OFFICE  PROVOST-MARSHAL  GEN'L,  ) 
MEMPHIS,  TENN.,  July  10, 1862.     \ 

The  constant  communication  between  the  so-called 
Confederate  army  and  their  friends  and  sympathizers  in 
the  city  of  Memphis,  despite  the  orders  heretofore  issued, 
0 


122  LIFE  OF  GRAHT. 

and  the  efforts  to  enforce  them,  induced  the  issuing  of 
the  following  order : 

The  families  now  residing  in  the  city  of  Memphis  of 
the  following  persons,  are  required  to  move  south  be- 
yond the  lines  within  five  days  of  the  date  hereof : 

First.  All  persons  holding  commissions  in  the  so  -called 
Confederate  army,  or  who  have  voluntarily  enlisted  in 
said  army,  or  who  accompany  and  are  connected  with 
the  same. 

Second.  All  persons  holding  office  under  or  in  the 
employ  of  the  so-called  Confederate  Government. 

Thvrd.  All  persons  holding  State,  county,  or  munici- 
pal offices,  who  claim  allegiance  to  said  so-called  Con- 
federate Government,  and  who  have  abandoned  their 
families  and  gone  South. 

Safe  conduct  will  be  given  to  the  parties  hereby 
required  to  leave,  upon  application  to  the  Provost- 
Marshal  of  Memphis. 

By  command  of  Major-General  GBAJ*T. 

DISTRICT  OF  WEST  TENNESSEE,  OFFICE  OF  THE  PROVOST-  ( 
14AE8HAL  GENERAL,  MEMPHIS,  TENN.,  July  11, 1862.     { 

****** 
In  order  that  innocent,  peaceable,  and  well-disposed 
persons  may  not  suffer  for  the  bad  conduct  of  the  guilty 
parties  coming  within  the  purview  of  Special  Order  !No. 
14,  dated  July  10,  1862,  they  can  be  relieved  from  the 
operation  of  said  order  No.  14,  by  signing  the  following 
parole,  and  producing  to  the  Provost-Marshal  General, 
or  the  Provost-Marshal  of  Memphis,  satisfactory  guaran- 
tees that  they  will  keep  the  pledge  therein  made : 

PABOLB. 

u  Fi/rst.  I  have  not,  since  the  occupation  of  the  city 
of  Memphis  by  the  Federal  army,  given  any  aid  to  the 
so-called  Confederate  army,  nor  given  or  sent  any 
information  of  the  movements,  strength,  or  position  of 
the  Federal  army  to  any  one  connected  with  said  Con 
federate  army. 


.  A  THEEATENING  LETTER.  123 

"  Second.  I  will  not,  during  the  occupancy  of  Mem- 
phis by  the  Federal  army,  and  my  residing  therein,  op- 
pose or  conspire  against  the  civil  or  military  authority 
of  the  United  States ;  and  I  will  not  give  aid,  comfort, 
or  encouragement  to  the  so-called  Confederate  army, 
nor  to  any  person  cooperating  therewith. 

"  All  of  which  I  state  and  pledge  upon  my  sacred 
honor." 

By  command  of  Major-General  GRANT. 

WILLIAM  S.  HILLYER,  Provost-Marshal  General. 

He  also  suspended  the  Avalanche  paper  for  pub- 
lishing treasonable  articles,  and  finally  permitted 
it  to  appear  again,  only  on  the  condition  of  the 
withdrawal  of  the  editor  who  had  written  them. 

His  stern  treatment  of  hostile  citizens  awakened 
the  bitterest  feeling  against  him,  and  he  received 
threats  of  vengeance,  of  which  the  following  let- 
ter is  a  fair  example: 

SOTATOBIA,  July  16,  1862. 
U.  S.  GKAIJT: 

SIR  :  We  have  seen  your  infamous  and  fiendish  proc- 
lamation. It  is  characteristic  of  your  infernal  policy. 
*  *  We  had  hoped  that  this  war  would  be  conducted 
upon  the  principles  recognized  by  civilized  nations. 
But  you  have  .seen  fit  to  ignore  all  the  rules  of  civilized 
warfare,  and  resort  to  means  which  ought  to  and  would 
make  half-civilized  nations  blush.  If  you  attempt  to 
carry  out  your  threat  against  the  property  of  citizens, 
we  will  make  you  rue  the  day  you  issued  your  dastardly 
proclamation.  If  we  can't  act  on  the  principle  of  lex 
talionis,  in  regard  to  private  property,  we  will  visit 
summary  vengeance  upon  your  men.  You  call  us  gueril- 
las, which  you  know  is  false.  We  are  recognized  by 
our  Government ;  and  it  was  us  who  attacked  your 
wagons  at  Moaning  Sun.  We  have  twenty-three  men 


124  LIFE   OF   GRAFT. 

of  yours,  and,  as  soon  as  you  carry  out  your  threat 
against  the  citizens  of  the  vicinity  of  Morning  Sun,  your 
Hessians  will  pay  for  it.  You  shall  conduct  this  war 
upon  proper  principles.  "We  intend  to  force  you  to  do 
it.  If  you  intend  to  make  this  .a  war  of  extermination, 
you  will  please  inform  us  of  it  at  the  earliest  conve- 
nience. We  are  ready,  and  more  than  willing,  to  raise 
the  "  black  flag."  There  are  two  thousand  partisans 
who  have  swOrn  to  retaliate.  If  you  do  not  retract 
your  proclamation,  you  may  expect  to  have  scenes  of 
the  most  bloody  character.  We  all  remember  the  man- 
ner in  which  your  vandal  soldiers  put  to  death  Mr. 
Owens,  of  Missouri.  Henceforth  our  motto  shall  be, 
Blood  for  blood,  and  blood  for  property.  We  intend, 
by  the  help  of  God,  to  hang  on  the  outskirts  of  your 
rabble,  like  lightning  around  the  edge  of  a  cloud. 

We  don't  intend  this  as  a  threat,  but  simply  as  a 
warning  of  what  we  intend  to  do  in  case  you  pursue 
your  disgraceful  and  nefarious  policy  towards  our  citi- 
zens, as  marked  out  in  your  letter  of  recent  date. 
Hespectfully, 

GEO.  E.  MEEEITT. 

Grant  fortified  Corinth,  and  erected  works  near- 
er the  town,  so  that  it  could  be  held  by  a  smaller 
anny  than  the  one  which  occupied  it  under  Beau- 
regard. 

The  enemy  in  the  meantime  kept  him  con- 
stantly on  the  alert,  and  finally,  in  September, 
Price  suddenly  pounced  upon  luka,  only  twenty 
miles  from  his  headquarters.  Murphy,  the  com- 
mander, gave  it  up  without  striking  a  blow  in  its 
defence.  Added  to  this  threatening  movement, 
Van  Dorn  was  only  four  days1  march  from  him 
in  the  southwest.  He  at  once  determined  to 


.    BATTLE   OP   CORINTH.  125 

crush  Price  before  Van  Dorn  could  form  a  junc- 
tion with  him.  Generals  Ord  and  Hosecrans,  with 
eight  or  nine  thousand  troops  each,  were  therefore 
ordered  to  move  by  different  routes  on  the  place. 
Rosecrans  had  a  sharp  fight  with  the  enemy,  but 
owing  to  delays  and  misunderstandings  the  two 
forces  did  not  act  in  conjunction,  as  Grant  had 
planned  and  directed,  and  Price  got  off  with  his 
army. 

Grant  now  put  Rosecrans  in  command  of  Cor- 
inth, making  Jackson  his  own  headquarters,  as  a 
point  more  convenient  to  communicate  with  his 
distributed  command.  This  was  on  the  23d  of 
September.  A  few  days  after,  he  learned  that 
the  rebel  forces  had  effected  a  junction,  and  under 
Van  Dorn  and  Price,  were  moving  on  Corinth. 
On  the  3d  of  October  they  appeared  before  the 
place,  and  though  at  first  Hosecrans  was  driven 
back  to  his  works  on  the  north  side  of  Corinth,  he 
at  last,  with  his  army  of  nineteen  thousand,  over- 
whelmed and  shattered  into  fragments  the  rebel 
forces,  nearly  forty  thousand  strong — thanks  to  v 
the  strong  fortifications  that  Grant,  with  great 
forecast,  had  previously  thrown  up  there.  His 
department  being  thus  relieved  from  immediate 
danger,  and  reinforcements  arriving  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  month,  he  was  anxious  to  take  the  of- 
fensive, and  proposed  to  Halleck  to  attempt  the 
capture  of  Vicksburg.  The  gunboats  above,  had 


126  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

opened  the  Mississippi  river  down  to  this  place, 
while  Farragut's  fleet  had  cleared  it  below.  Be- 
tween Halleck,  however,  who  seemed  to  have  no 
fixed  opinion,  and  political  management  at  Wash- 
ington, affairs  did  not  move  on  smoothly,  and  for 
a  while  seemed  in  an  inextricable  tangle.  But 
at  length  they  assumed  shape,  and  Sherman  with 
four  picked  divisions  was  ordered  to  embark  on 
board  steamers,  and  planting  himself  suddenly 
before  Vicksburg  carry  it  by  assault,  while  Grant 
moved  inland,  in  the  rear  of  it,  to  prevent  reinforce- 
ments being  thrown  into  the  place.  Sherman  set 
out  on  the  20th  of  December,  landed  his  troops, 
and  moved  to  the  assault.  But  in  the  meantime 
the  shameful  surrender  of  Holly  Springs,  eight 
miles  in  Grant's  rear,  with  its  garrison  and  stores, 
by  which  his  only  line  of  communication  with  the 
north  was  cut  off,  brought  him  to  halt,  and  thus 
enabled  the  enemy  to  reinforce  Vicksburg  to  any 
extent. 

Sherman,  ignorant  of  this,  hurled  his  brave 
troops  against  the  works  ;  but  found  instead  of  a 
weak  garrison  a  powerful  army  to  oppose  him. 
Repulsed  with  heavy  slaughter,  he  was  compelled 
to  reembark  his  army.  McClernand  supersed- 
ed him,  when  the  army  and  fleet  moved  against 
Arkansas  Post,  on  the  Arkansas  river,  and  took 
it  with  its  garrison,  stores  and  arms. 

The  grand  expedition  against  Vicksburg  was 


PREPARATIONS.  127 

now  planned,  and  Grant's  department  being  en- 
larged so  as  to  cover  the  Mississippi  river  to 
this  place,  he  concentrated  his  army,  and  gather- 
ed together  his  munitions  of  war,  preparatory  to 
the  herculean  task  which  he  knew  was  before 
him.  He  arrived  at  Young's  Point  on  the  29th 
of  January,  and  assumed  command  in  person. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

ABOVE   VICKSBURG. 

Situation  of  Vicksburg— Difficulty  of  reaching  it— Attempt  to  gel 
below  it  by  a  Canal — Sickliness  of  the  Oamp— Visit  of  one  of 
the  Sanitary  Commission  —Aided  by  Grant — His  Solicitude  for 
the  Comfort  of  the  Soldiers — A  Flood — Failure  of  the  Canal — 
The  Red  River  Route — Abandoned — Attempt  on  the  east  Side 
of  the  River,  by  Moon  Lake — Narrative  of  the  Expedition  sent 
through  it — Its  Abandonment — A  Fourth  Attempt  by  Steele's 
Bayou-— Its  Difficulties— Porter's  Account  of  it— Its  Abandon- 
ment. 

GRANT  now  had  a  well-appointed  army  of  some 
fifty  thousand  men  under  him,  but  the  grand 
difficulty  was,  to  get  them  within  striking  distance 
of  Vicksburg.  The  Mississippi  is  a  very  crooked 
stream,  winding  in  and  out,  often  turning  almost 
directly  back  and  flowing  northerly  in  its  course. 
Just  above  Vicksburg  it  wheels  short  about  to 
the  left,  and  runs  nortli-esist,  for  some  five  miles, 
when  it  abruptly  turns  back  and  flows  sout/i-e&st. 
This  of  course  makes  a  long  tongue  of  land,  pro- 
jecting from  the  west  side,  corresponding  in  shape 
with  the  bend  of  the  stream.  This  projection  is 
low,  compared  with  the  high  bluffs  of  Vicksburg, 
so  that  batteries  mounted  on  it  would  be  perfectly 
commanded  by  those  occupying  the  high  ground 


THE  CANAL.  129 

opposite.  Hence,  the  place  was  safe  from  any 
attack  that  could  be  made  from  the  west  side  of 
the  river.  It  must  be  approached  on  the  west  side, 
or  not  at  all  Its  height  rendered  it  impregnable 
to  the  gunboats,  that  could  effectively  reach  only 
the  water  batteries.  It  therefore  was  evident  that 
it  could  be  assailed  only  by  moving  an  army  down 
from  the  north,  or  up  from  the  south,  and  thus  get 
in  its  rear.  But  north  of  Vicksburg,  the  high  bluffs 
run  northeast  for  twelve  miles,  to  the  Yazoo  River, 
where  they  terminate  in  the  commanding  eminence 
called  Haines'  Bluff.  This  whole  elevated  range 
was  strongly  fortified.  Haines'  Bluff,  if  once 
taken,  would  give  a  foothold  from  which  an  army 
could  work  its  way  along  the  ridge  to  Vicksburg. 
Hence,  its  seizure  was  the  first  thing  thought  of 
and  attempted,  but  Sherman's  failure  demonstra- 
ted that  this  must  be  given  up.  The  only  remain- 
ing course  left,  therefore,  was  to  try  to  get  south  of 
the  city,  and  move  up  behind  it  from  that  direction ; 
but  as  guns  of  the  heaviest  calibre  commanded  the 
channel  for  miles,  the  army  could  not  be  carried  in 
transports  past  it.  Hence,  the  first  thing  that 
suggested  itself  in  this  dilemma,  was  to  cut  a 
canal  across  this  low  tongue  of  land,  wide  and 
deep  enough  to  float  steamers  through. 

The  country  here  was  flat  and  swampy,  which 
made  it  seem  feasible.     This  had  been  commenced 
some  time  previously,  but  it  was  neither  wide  nor 
a* 


130  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

deep  enough  to  admit  the  water  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  had  been  abandoned.  To  the  open- 
ing and  enlargement  of  it  Grant's  attention  was 
first  directed,  in  accordance  with  orders  from  Hal- 
leek,  who  said  that  "  the  President  attached  much 
importance"  to  it.  Four  thousand  soldiers,  be- 
sides negroes,  were  at  once  set  to  work.  In  the 
mean  time,  the  lowj  marshy  ground  on  which  the 
troops  were  compelled  to  encamp,  produced  dis- 
ease, which  swept  off,  or  rendered  unfit  for  duty, 
a  great  number.  They  could  not  even  bury  their 
dead  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  encampment. 
The  levee,  a  high  embankment  of  the  Mississippi, 
that  separated  them  from  the  stream,  furnished 
the  only  dry  ground,  and  this  was  ridged,  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  reach,  with  soldiers1  graves — a 
sad  and  gloomy  spectacle  to  their  comrades  below, 
who  thus  saw  themselves  hedged  in  by  the  dead. 
Every  thing,  however,  was  done  for  the  health  and 
comfort  of  the  men  that  foresight  and  care  could 
accomplish.  A  lady,*  sent  by  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission, visited  the  camp  and  hospitals  at  Young's 
Point,  to  see  if  any  thing  more  could  be  done.  She 
obtained  an  interview  with  Grant,  who  spoke 
freely  of  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  army,  and 
said  he  had  perfect  confidence  in  its  administra- 
tion, but  added  that  he  wanted  every  thing  done 
for  the  comfort  of  the  men,  that  could  be,  and 

*  Mrs.  A.  H.  Hoge,  author  of  "  The  Boys  in  Blue." 


CARE   FOR   THE    SOLDIERS.  131 

offered  her  every  facility  in  his  power  to  enable 
her  to  carry  out  her  benevolent  designs.  Look- 
ing at  every  thing  in  a  practical,  common-sense 
light,  he  did  not  care  whether  the  good  was 
done  through  the  regular  military  organiza- 
tions or  not,  so  that  the  troops  were  made  more 
comfortable.  She  told  him  she  would  like  some 
cotton,  to  make  "comfortables"  for  the  soldiers, 
to  keep  them  warm  in  the  damp,  chilly  atmosphere 
to  which  they  were  exposed.  He  immediately 
sat  down  and  wrote  an  order  for  five  bales.  A 
tug  was  placed  at  her  disposal,  and  she  was  carried 
wherever  she  wished  to  go.  After  finishing  her 
investigations,  she  returned  to  Grant  to  make  her 
report  to  him.  Among  other  things,  she  said  she 
had  discovered  that  incipient  scurvy  had  com- 
menced in  the  hospitals  at  Young's  Point,  and 
threatened,  according  to  the  reports  of  the  sur- 
geons submitted  to  her,  to  become  wide  and 
sweeping  in  its  ravages,  and  that  it  could  be 
arrested  only  by  a  free  supply  of  vegetables  and 
acids.  Grant  immediately  gave  an  order  for 
the  transportation  of  any  needed  amount  of 
vegetables  from  the  North  ;  saying,  quietly,  that, 
under  the  circumstances,  "onions  and  potatoes 
were  indispensable  to  the  taking  of  Vicksburg." 

When  about  to  leave,  she  said:  "Well,  Gen- 
eral, what  of  Vicksburg  ?  What  shall  I  say  when 
I  return?"  He  paused  a  moment,  in  thought, 


132  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

and  then  replied:  "Madame,  Vicksburg  is  curs 
and  its  garrison  our  prisoners.  It  is  only  a  ques- 
tion of  time.  I  want  to  take  it  with  as  little  loss 
of  life  as  possible."  This  confident  opinion  was 
not  based  on  any  strong  faith  in  the  success  of  the 
canal,  for  he  always  doubted  it.  It  was  originally 
constructed  by  Gen.  Williams,  in  1862,  but  when 
the  levee  was  cut,  the  water  did  not  pour  through 
it.  Grant  had,  therefore,  a  cut  made  farther  up 
the  river,  tapping  the  original  canal,  but  starting 
at  a  point  where  the  current  struck  the  bank  more 
strongly  and  directly.  For  two  months  the  sol- 
diers toiled  on  to  complete  it,  while  the  country 
waited  and  grumbled.  But  just  as  success  seemed 
probable,  and  this  branch  cut  had  almost  reached 
the  main  canal,  a  sudden  freshet  carried  away  the 
dam  at  the  upper  end,  and  the  swollen  waters  rush- 
ing in  with  great  violence,  tore  over  and  through 
the  banks,  crushing  down  all  barriers  in  its  mad 
flow,  and  turning  the  whole  peninsula  into  a 
marshy  lake.  Horses  were  swept  away,  and 
drowned — soldiers  scattered,  pell  mell,  in  every 
direction,  to  save  their  lives — leaving  all  their  tools 
and  machines  to  be  borne  away  or  submerged  in 
the  flood,  and  thus  the  labor  of  weeks  was  totally 
destroyed.  In  the  mean  time,  the  enemy,  having 
learned  what  was  going  on,  planted  batteries  to  en- 
filade the  canal,  so  that  this  project,  on  the  comple- 
tion of  which  so  much  had  been  anticipated,  had  to 


A  NEW   PLAN.  133 

be  abandoned.  Grant  had  put  so  little  faith  in  the 
success  of  this  canal  that,  the  very  next  day  after 
he  assumed  command  in  person,  he  gave  orders 
to  have  another  one  cut  from  the  Mississippi  to 
Lake  Providence,  which  lay  only  a  mile  from  the 
shore,  and  connecting  by  a  series  of  bayous  and 
streams  with  the  Red  River,  which  last  stream 
enters  the  Mississippi  between  Natchez  and  Port 
Hudson.  This  was  to  enable  him,  in  case  the  first 
canal  failed,  to  cooperate  with  Banks — an  object 
that  the  government  had  very  much  at  heart. 
McPherson  was  set  to  work  on  this,  but  after  seve- 
ral weeks'  labor,  it  also  was  abandoned.  For  a  time, 
it  was  supposed  by  some  men  of  ardent  imagina- 
tions, that  it  was  going  to  change  the  whole  course 
of  the  mighty  Mississippi,  clear  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  thus  leave  New  Orleans  an  inland  town. 
But  its  turbid  current  swept  on  in  its  old  channel, 
and  Grant  was  at  last  compelled  to  abandon  all 
hope  of  getting  below  Vicksburg  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river.  It  shows  how  thoroughly  he  had 
studied  the  subject,  and  estimated  the  difficulties 
of  the  task,  by  his  having  several  different  routes 
surveyed  at  the  same  time,  so  that  if  one  failed 
there  should  be  no  delay  in  trying  another. 

Besides  the  two  plans  which  had  now  been  tried 
and  abandoned,  a  third  one,  before  they  were 
tested,  had  been  matured.  If  he  failed  on  the 
west  side,  he  determined  to  try  the  east  side,  and 


134  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

for  this  purpose,  had  what  was  called  the  Yazoo 
Pass  surveyed  by  Lieut. -Col.  Wilson. 

A  few  miles  below  Helena,  and  about  a  mile 
from  the  river,  lies  Moon  Lake,  once  the  bed  of  the 
Mississippi.  A  narrow  and  crooked  bayou  for- 
merly led  into  this,  through  which  light  craft 
sometimes  reached  the  Yazoo — for  Moon  Lake 
connects  with  the  Cold  water  river,  which  flows  into 
the  Tallahatchie,  which,  in  turn,  effects  a  junction 
with  the  Yallabusha — the  two  forming  the  Yazoo. 
The  distance  by  this  route  was  some  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles.  The  short  cut,  however, 
from  the  Mississippi  into  Moon  Lake,  had  been 
closed  up  by  the  State,  as,  in  times  of  freshets,  the 
water  poured  through  it  in  such  volume  that  it 
overflowed  the  surrounding  country. 

The  levee  that  shut  it  up  was  cut  on  the  2d 
of  February,  and  the  water  rushed  through  into 
the  lake,*  cutting  a  channel  in  two  days,  wide 
and  deep  enough  to  admit  the  largest  steamers. 
The  rebels,  however,  who  were  on  the  watch  for  this 
very  movement,  now  began  to  barricade  the  tortuous 
channel  beyond,  with  trees  and  rafts,  at  every  avail- 
able point.  In  one  place,  this  tangled  net- work 

*  The  plan  and  main  direction  of  this  route  may  be  understood 
by  referring  to  the  map  giving  that  of  Steele's  bayou.  Both  routes 
would  take  the  army  into  the  Yazoo  above  Haines'  Bluff.  The 
only  difference  was — this  one  begun  up  the  Mississippi — struck 
down  farther  east,  and  reached  the  Yazoo  higher  up  than  the  last 
one  undertaken. 


YICKSUD&G. 


*  J» 


yOW£-  OFM/LES. 


A   DIFFICULT  ENTERPRISE.  135 

of  logs  and  trees  extended  over  a  mile  in  solid  mass. 
Many  of  the  trees  were  of  gigantic  size — weigh- 
ing twenty  tons  or  more,  which,  according  to  Co). 
Badeau's  account,  "  had  to  be  hauled  out  entire 
upon  the  shore  by  strong  cables,  while  a  few  of 
the  most  buoyant  were  cut  in  pieces  and  fastened 
along  the  banks."  To  add  to  the  difficulties,  the 
rapid  rise  of  the  water,  from  the  crevasse  at  the  en- 
trance, submerged  the  entire  country,  except  along 
a  very  narrow  strip  of  land  near  the  shore.  The 
men,  in  parties  of  about  five  hundred,  were  thus 
obliged  to  work  in  the  water,  as  well  as  during 
almost  incessant  rains.  The  barriers,  however, 
being  removed,  and  a  heavy  growth  of  overhang- 
ing timber  cut  away,  the  distance  from  Moon  Lake 
to  the  Coldwater  was  finally  cleared.  But,  while 
Grant's  forces  were  thus  diligently  engaged  in 
opening  one  end  of  the  pass,  the  enemy  had  gam- 
ed time  to  securely  fortify  below. 

On  the  15th  of  February,  however,  a  way  was 
open  to  the  Tallahatchie,  and  Brigadier-General 
Ross,  with  forty-five  hundred  men,  was  ordered 
into  the  pass.  He  embarked  on  twenty-two  light 
transports,  preceded  by  two  iron-clad  gunboats, 
and  a  mosquito  fleet,  as  the  light- armored  craft 
suitable  for  this  navigation  was  called.  Lieuten- 
ant-Commander Watson  Smith  commanded  the 
naval  force.  The  difficulty  of  procuring  light 
transports  delayed  Ross  over  a  week,  but  the  com- 


136  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

bined  fleet  entered  the  pass  on  the  24th  of  FeT> 
raary,  and  reached  the  Cold  water,  twenty-five 
niiles  from  the  Mississippi,  on  the  2d  of  March. 
The  Coldwater  is  over  a  hundred  feet  wide,  and 
runs  through  a  dense  wilderness,  for  nearly  all  its 
course.  The  Tallahatchie  is  a  stream  of  similar 
nature,  and,  from  its  width  and  depth,  no  longer 
susceptible  of  obstruction  by  the  enemy.  Thirty 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Coldwater,  the  Tal- 
lahatchie affords  free  navigation  for  boats  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long.  When  once  the  ex- 
pedition reached  these  rivers,  a  great  part  of  its 
difficulties  would,  it  was  hoped,  be  past.  The 
naval  commander  moved  cautiously,  running  but 
little  faster  than  the  current  by  daylight,  and  ty- 
ing his  boats  to  the  shore  after  nightfall,  so  that 
the  expedition  did  not  reach  the  lower  Tallahatchie 
till  the  10th  of  March.  This  long  passage  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  through  an  almost  un- 
broken forest,  was  made  without  the  loss  of  a  man. 
The  country  being  overflowed,  the  river- banks 
could  not  be  approached  in  any  force  by  guerillas 
or  sharpshooters. 

Wilson  now  reported  the  practicability  of  the 
route  as  a  line  of  important  military  operations, 
and  Grant  determined  to  prosecute  his  entire 
campaign,  if  possible,  in  this  direction.  The  idea 
was  to  reach  the  Yazoo  river,  above  Haines'  bluff, 
with  the  whole  army;  the  distance  from  Milli- 


UNLOOKED-FOR   OBSTRUCTIONS.  137 

ken's  Bend  would  have  been  nearly  nine  hundred 
miles.  At  first,  only  a  single  division  of  troops, 
under  Brigadier-General  Quimby,  was  sent  to  the 
support  of  Ross  ;  but,  shortly  afterwards,  McPher- 
son,  with  his  whole  corps,  and  an  additional  divis- 
ion from  Hurlbufs  command  (at  Memphis),  was 
ordered  into  the  pass,  whenever  suitable  trans- 
portation could  be  procured.  Great  difficulty, 
however,  was  found  in  obtaining  light-draught 
steamers  fit  for  the  navigation  of  these  narrow  and 
devious  streams  ;  and  the  reinforcements  were, 
in  consequence,  delayed  at  Helena. 

Near  where  the  waters  of  the  Tallahatchie  meet 
those  of  the  Yallabusha,  the  small  town  of  Green- 
wood is  built ;  a  little  way  above  this  point,  the 
former  stream  sweeps  to  the  east  for  eight  or  ten 
miles,  and  then  doubles  at  the  confluence  ;  while 
the  Yazoo,  which  is  formed  by  the  junction,  flows 
back  again  to  within  five  hundred  yards  of  the 
Tallahatchie.  At  the  narrowest  part  of  the  neck 
of  land  thus  created,  the  rebels  had  hastily  con- 
structed, of  earth  and  cotton  bales,  a  line  of  para- 
pet running  irregularly  across  from  the  Talla- 
hatchie to  the  north  bank  of  the  Yazoo.  This 
work  they  called  fort  "  Pemberton."  This  fort 
commanded  all  the  approaches  to  the  Yazoo  and 
the  Yazoo  itself,  while  it  was  built  on  ground  so 
low  that  in  front  of  it  the  land  was  covered  with 
water  for  a  great  distance,  thus  making  a  land  at- 


L»E   OF   GRANT. 

tack  impossible.  Resort  was  therefore  had  to  the 
iron-clads,  that  had  worked  their  difficult  way  to 
this  point.  An  attack  was  made  by  them,  at  long 
range,  on  the  llth  of  March,  without  any  effect, 
and  it  was  repeated  two  days  after,  with  the  same 
result,  while  one  vessel  was  crippled  by  the  guns 
of  the  fort,  and  some  thirty  men  killed  and  wound- 
ed. It  was  plain  that  some  new  mode  of  attack 
must  be  devised.  The  fort  was  on  such  low 
ground  that  a  rise  of  two  or  three  feet  in  the  river, 
it  was  thought,  would  drown  out  the  garrison, 
and  it  was  resolved  to  try  to  effect  it.  For  this 
purpose,  the  levee  of  the  Mississippi  was  cut 
eighteen  miles  above  Helena — three  hundred  miles 
away — in  the  hope  that  the  water  pouring  through 
the  country  would  eventually  seek  the  Coldwater 
as  an  avenue  of  escape,  and  produce  the  needed 
rise  of  water.  The  only  result,  however,  was  the 
wide-spread  inundation  of  the  country,  making  it 
a  vast  lake  and  marsh.  This  route  was  plainly 
impracticable,  while  to  make  matters  worse,  the 
enemy  began  to  hurry  troops  across  the  country 
by  a  shorter  route,  to  hem  in  the  boats  and  troops 
from  behind.  In  this  dilemma,  for  the  double 
purpose  of  making  a  diversion  in  favor  of  Hoss, 
the  commander,  and  of  reaching  the  same  point 
aimed  at  (the  Yazoo  above  Haines1  Bluff),  an- 
other expedition  up  Steele's  Bayou  was  started, 
This  left  the  Yazoo  below  Haines1  Bluff,  and  pass- 


A  LAST   ATTEMPT.  139 

ing  through  Steele's  Bayou  into  Black  Bayou, 
thence  to  Deer  Creek — through  Rolling  Fork, 
across  to  the  Sunflower,  and  adown  this  to  the 
Yazoo  again.  This  strange  and  tortuous  route  is 
clearly  shown  in  the  accompanying  map.  The 
expedition  was  under  the  command  of  Admiral 
Porter,  to  be  supported  by  Sherman,  who  by 
a  short  cut  across  the  country  was  to  reach  a 
point  on  the  Rolling  Fork  about  the  same  time 
that  he  did. 

Such  inland  navigation  was  never  before  at- 
tempted by  war  vessels.  The  expedition  consisted 
of  four  gunboats,  four  mortar-boats,  and  four  tugs. 
For  thirty  miles  the  little  fleet  passed  up  Steele's 
Bayou,  then  a  mere  ditch,  to  Black  Bayou,  in 
which,  for  four  miles,  the  trees  had  to  be  torn  out 
or  pushed  over  by  the  iron-clads,  or  the  branches 
cut  away,  when  Porter  at  last  reached  Deer  Creek. 
It  took  twenty-four  hours  to  make  these  four 
miles.  Some  idea  of  the  difficulties  of  the  route 
may  be  obtained,  when  it  is  remembered  that, 
with  the  utmost  exertion  of  the  crews,  the  vessels 
for  twenty-four  consecutive  hours  averaged  a  speed 
of  only  about  fifty  rods  an  hour.  Up  this  stream 
to  Rolling  Fork  it  was  thirty-two  miles.  To  the 
same  point  by  land,  it  was  twelve  miles,  over 
which  Sherman  marched,  in  order  to  cooperate 
with  him.  The  channel  was  narrow  and  filled 
with  small  willows,  which  so  retarded  the  progress 


140  LIFE   OF   GKAOT. 

of  the  boats  that,  with  his  utmost  exertions,  Por 
ter  could  average  only  about  a  half  a  mile  an  hour, 
At  length  he  got  within  seven  miles  of  the  Boll- 
ing  Fork,  from  whence  there  would  be  water 
enough  to  the  Yazoo. 

The  inhabitants  were  filled  with  amazement  to 
see  a  war  fleet  sailing  through  the  heart  of  a 
country  where  a  vessel  of  any  kind  had  never  be- 
fore been  seen,  while  the  negroes  flocked  in  crowds 
to  the  shore  to  gaze  on  the  unwonted  spectacle. 
But  as  soon  as  the  Confederate  official  in  that 
section  was  informed  of  the  expedition,  he  ga,ve 
the  alarm,  and  ordered  the  torch  to  be  applied  to 
all  the  cotton  along  the  shore,  and  Porter  was 
lighted  on  his  strange  course  by  a  continuous  con- 
flagration. 

Negroes  were  also  set  to  work  cutting  down 
trees  to  arrest  his  progress,  until  troops  and  guns 
could  be  brought  up.  Porter,  made  aware  of  the 
movement,  pushed  on  the  tug  Thistle,  with  a  how- 
itzer on  board,  which  reached  the  first  tree  before 
it  was  cut  down.  The  tug  then  kept  on,  to  keep 
the  way  open,  but  the  enemy  at  length  succeeded 
in  getting  one  large  tree  across  the  creek,  and  thus 
for  a  time  stopped  all  further  progress.  Being 
now  safe  from  our  guns,  the  negroes,  under  the 
orders  of  their  masters,  continued  to  chop  down 
trees,  until  it  was  thought  that  Porter  could  make 
no  farther  advance.  He,  however,  by  working 


HARD   NAVIGATION.  141 

night  and  day,  chopping  and  sawing  them  in  two, 
:>r  hauling  them  one  side,  at  length  cleared  the 
channel,  and  pushed  on  until  he  got  within  three 
miles  of  the  Rolling  Fork.  Here  he  saw  smoke 
rising  over  the  tree-tops  in  the  direction  of  the 
Yazoo,  and  learned  that  the  enemy  was  landing 
troops  to  dispute  his  passage.  He  immediately 
sent  Lieutenant  Murphy,  with  two  boat  howitzers 
and  three  hundred  men,  to  hold  Rolling  Fork 
until  he  could  reach  it  with  his  boats. 

"After  working  all  night,"  says  Porter,  "and 
clearing  out  the  obstructions,  which  were  terrible, 
we  succeeded  in  getting  within  eight  hundred  yards 
of  the  end  of  this  troublesome  creek ;  had  only 
two  or  three  large  trees  to  remove,  and  one  appar- 
ently short  and  easy  lane  of  willows  to  work 
through.  The  men  being  much  worn  out,  we 
rested  at  sunset 

"  In  the  morning  we  commenced  with  renewed 
vigor  to  work  ahead  through  the  willows,  but  our 
passage  was  very  slow  ;  the  lithe  trees  defied  our 
utmost  efforts  to  get  by  them,  and  we  had  to  go 
to  work  and  pull  them  up  separately,  or  cut  them 
off  under  water,  which  was  a  most  tedious  job. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  the  enemy  had  collected  and 
landed  about  eight  hundred  men,  and  seven  pieces 
of  artillery  (from  20  to  30- pounders),  which  were 
firing  on  our  field-pieces  from  time  to  time,  the 
latter  not  having  range  enough  to  reach  them. 


142  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

"  I  was  also  informed  that  the  enemy  were  cut- 
ting down  trees  in  our  rear,  to  prevent  communi- 
cation by  water,  and  also  prevent  our  escape ;  this 
looked  unpleasant.  I  knew  that  five  thousand 
had  embarked  at  Haines'  Bluff  for  this  place, 
immediately  they  heard  we  were  attempting  to 
go  through  that  way,  and,  as  our  troops  had  not 
come  up,  I  considered  it  unwise  to  risk  the  least 
thing ;  at  all  events,  never  to  let  my  communi- 
cation be  closed  behind  me.  I  was  somewhat 
strengthened  in  my  determination  to  advance  no 
further  until  reinforced  by  land  forces,  when  the 
enemy,  at  sunset,  opened  on  us  a  cross-fire  with 
six  or  seven  rifled  guns,  planted  somewhere  off  in 
the  woods,  where  we  could  see  nothing  tut  the 
smoke.  It  did  not  take  us  long  to  dislodge  them, 
though,  a  large  part  of  the  crew  being  on  shore  at 
the  time,  we  could  not  fire  over  them,  or  until 
they  got  on  board.  I  saw  at  once  the  difficulties 
we  had  to  encounter,  with  a  constant  fire  on  our 
working  parties,  and  no  prospect  at  present  of  the 
troops  getting  along.  I  had  received  a  letter  from 
General  Sherman,  informing  me  of  the  difficulties 
in  getting  forward  his  men ;  he  doing  his  utmost, 
I  knew,  to  expedite  matters. 

"  The  news  of  the  felling  trees  in  our  rear  was 
brought  in  frequently  by  negroes,  who  were  press- 
ed into  the  service  for  cutting  them,  and  I  hesi- 
tated no  longer  about  what  to  do.  We  dropped 


POUTER'S  ACCOUNT.  143 

down  again,  unshipped  our  rudders,  and  let  the 
vessels  rebound  from  tree  to  tree.  As  we  left,  the 
enemy  took  possession  of  the  Indian  mound,  and 
in  the  morning  opened  fire  on  the  Carondelet,  Lieu- 
tenant Murphy,  and  Cincinnati,  Lieutenant  Baehe. 
These  two  ships  soon  silenced  the  batteries,  and 
we  were  no  longer  annoyed. 

"  The  sharpshooters  hung  about  us,  firing  from 
behind  trees  and  rifle-pits,  but  with  due  precau- 
tion we  had  very  few  hurt — only  five  wounded  by 
rifle-balls — and  they  were  hit  by  being  imprudent 

"On  the  21st,  we  fell  in  with  Colonel  Smith, 
commanding  Eighth  Missouri,  and  other  parts  of 
regiments.  We  were  quite  pleased  to  see  him,  as 
I  never  knew  before  how  much  the  comfort  and 
safety  of  iron-clads,  situated  as  we  were,  depended 
on  soldiers.  I  had  already  sent  out  behind  a 
force  of  three  hundred  men,  to  stop  the  felling  of 
trees  in  our  rear,  which  Colonel  Smith  now  took 
charge  of. 

"  The  enemy  had  already  felled  over  forty  heavy 
trees,  which  Lieutenant- Commander  Owen,  in  the 
Louisville,  working  night  and  day,  cleared  away 
almost  fast  enough  to  permit  us  to  meet  with  no 
delay. 

"  Colonel  Smith's  force  was  not  large  enough  to 
justify  my  making  another  effort  to  get  through  ; 
he  had  no  artillery,  and  would  frequently  have  to 
leave  the  vessels  in  following  the  roads. 


144  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

"  On  the  22d,  we  came  to  a  bend  in  the  river 
where  the  enemy  supposed  they  had  blockaded  us 
completely,  having  cut  a  number  of  trees  altogeth- 
er, and  so  intertwined  that  it  seemed  impossible  to 
move  them.  The  Louisville  was  at  work  at  them, 
pulling  them  up,  when  we  discovered  about  three 
thousand  rebels  attempting  to  pass  the  edge  of  the 
woods  to  our  rear,  while  the  negroes  reported  artil- 
lery coming  up  on  our  quarters. 

"  We  were  all  ready  for  them,  and,  when  the  artil 
lery  opened  on  us,  we  opened  such  a  fire  on  them, 
that  they  scarcely  waited  to  hitch  up  their  horses. 
At  the  same  time,  the  rebel  soldiers  fell  in  with 
Colonel  Smith's  troops,  and  after  a  sharp  skirmish 
fled  before  the  fire  of  our  soldiers.  After  this  we 
were  troubled  no  more.'1 

Although  Porter  now  met  Sherman's  advancing 
forces,  he  saw  it  would  be  folly  to  attempt  to  re- 
trace his  steps,  and  so  the  expedition,  after  having 
sailed  over  a  hundred  and  forty  miles,  right  through 
plantations  and  forests,  at  length  found  itself  once 
more  at  the  starting-point,  and  the  last  attempt 
to  get  around  Vicksburgh  from  the  north  was 
abandoned,  and  Grant  at  once  ordered  the  concen- 
tration of  all  his  forces  at  Milliken's  Bend 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RUNNING    THE    BATTEEIES. 

Grant  resolves  to  run  the  Batteries  with  his  Fleet — Opposed  by  hia 
Officers — Boldness  of  the  Resolution — Desperate  Character  of 
his  Plan — Attempt  to  remove  him — Cooperation  with  Banks — 
The  Army  marches  below  Vicksburgh — Running  the  Batteries — 
A  thrilling  Spectacle — Success — Grand  Gulf  attacked — Re- 
pulse— Its  Batteries  run — Landing  at  Bruinsburgh — Energy 
and  Activity  of  Grant — Superintends  every  thing — Strikes  In- 
land— Battle  of  Port  Gibson — Grant  assumes  Command — The 
Victory — Grand  Gulf  Evacuated — Entered  by  Grant. 

INSTEAD  of  being  discouraged  at  these  repeated 
failures,  occupying  such  a  long  time,  until  the  pub- 
lic patience  was  well-nigh  exhausted,  Grant  seemed 
to  feel  relieved  that  these  unsatisfactory  experiments 
were  at  last  over,  for  he  would  now  be  justified  in 
taking  the  short  bold  course,  so  much  more  congenial 
to  his  tastes,  and  in  harmony  with  his  character. 
The  winter  and  spring  freshets  had  somewhat  sub- 
sided, so  that  the  peninsula  opposite  Vicksburg 
might  be  made  passable  to  troops,  and  he  resolved 
to  march  his  army  across  it  to  a  point  below,  while 
Porter  run  the  batteries  with  his  iron-clads  and 
steamers.  Farragut  had  passed  the  batteries  at 
Port  Hudson,  with  some  of  his  vessels,  so  that 


146  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

Grant  was  able  to  communicate  with  him  respect* 
ing  Banks,  from  whom  he  found  he  could  expect 
no  support.  He  was  aware  that  the  Government 
wished  him  to  effect  a  junction  with  that  officer 
before  Port  Hudson,  if  the  latter  did  not  join  him, 
and  it  is  believed  by  many  that  he  resolved  to  do 
so.  Except  the  feeble  attempt  to  open  the  Red 
Biver  route,  we,  however,  see  no  evidence  that  he 
ever  wished  to  put  himself  under  the  control  of 
that  political  General.  Besides,  he  knew  that 
Port  Hudson  was  only  an  appendage  to  Vicks- 
burg,  and  to  combine  all  their  forces  against  a 
mere  outwork  was  unwise.  He  knew  that  if 
Vicksburg  was  captured,  Port  Hudson  would 
fall  without  fighting ;  but  the  overthrow  of  the  lat- 
ter place  would  have  no  effect  on  the  former,  except 
to  swell  the  forces  that  could  be  brought  against 
it.  But  by  the  time  this  was  accomplished,  the 
enemy  also  would  have  concentrated  forces  to  op- 
pose them,  so  that  the  relative  strength  of  the  two 
would  remain  nearly  the  same.  Grant,  therefore, 
with  his  clear  perception,  saw  that  Vicksburg 
was  the  point  where  the  blow  should  be  struck, 
and  determined,  if  events  justified  it,  to  plant  it 
there.  Still,  the  objections  to  his  contemplated 
movement  were  grave,  and  the  difficulties  formida- 
ble, and  the  responsibility  and  risk  frightful.  He 
knew  the  country  was  filled  with  clamor  against 
him.  Some  of  his  best  friends  had  deserted  him. 


A   BOLD   RESOLUTION.  147 

Governors  and  members  of  Congress  visited  his 
camp,  and  went  away  with  dismal  stories  of  his 
inefficiency  ;  and  everywhere  it  was  said,  that  he 
had  only  obstinacy  in  the  presence  of  difficulties, 
without  the  genius  to  overcome  them.  Confidence 
in  him  was  being  lost,  and  now  he  proposed  to 
take  a  step  full  of  peril,  not  only  to  himself,  but 
to  the  army.  He  was  not  going  to  risk  a  battle 
to  save  his  reputation,  but  to  put  it  and  the  fate 
of  fifty  thousand  men  on  a  single  throw — for  with 
the  army  once  below  Vicksburg,  defeat  was 
destruction.  He  would  have  no  base  to  fall  back 
upon,  no  line  of  retreat  left  open.  Victories  sud- 
den, rapid,  constant,  and  overwhelming,  he  must 
have,  or  he  was  lost.  Resting,  as  he  was,  under  a 
cloud,  it  required  a  character  of  amazing  strength, 
under  these  circumstances,  to  venture  on  such  a 
bold  and  hazardous  course.  He  might  well  hesi- 
tate, even  though  some  of  his  ablest  officers  ap- 
proved it.  But  when,  as  they  did,  one  and  all, 
oppose  it,  not  hesitatingly  and  doubtfully,  but  de- 
cidedly and  emphatically,  it  seems  marvellous  that 
he  did  not  waver. 

Sherman,  his  best  and  warmest  friend,  and  ablest 
general,  wrote  a  letter  to  him  urging  him  not  to 
venture  on  such  a  move.  McPherson,  equally 
sagacious  and  beloved,  with  others,  condemned  it 
Government  did  not  expect  it — no  one  was  near 
by  to  sustain  him  in  a  course  fraught  with  such  fear- 


148  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

ful  consequences.  Nothing  excites  our  admiration 
more  for  this  strong,  silent  man,  than  to  see  him 
thus  stand  all  alone — enemies  without,  and  friends 
within,  standing  aloof — while  he  gazes  thought- 
fully, sternly,  down  the  fearful  abyss  into  which  he 
has  determined  to  cast  himself  and  his  fifty  thou- 
sand men. 

To  what  a  sublime  height  must  he  have  reached, 
to  be  so  completely  above  all  surrounding  influ- 
ences of  every  kind !  How  clear  and  penetrating 
the  glance  that  could  see  light  beyond  the  dark- 
ness that  bounded  the  vision  of  all  others, 
even  the  most  clear-sighted.  Self-poised,  self-sus- 
tained, equal  in  himself  alone  to  the  great  crisis 
he  had  reached,  he  rises  before  us  like  some 
grand  column,  resting  firm  on  its  foundation  by 
mere  weight  alone.  "  Call  a  council  of  officers  be- 
fore deciding  on  so  hazardous  a  step,"  said  the 
sagacious,  true-hearted  Sherman — but  he  wanted 
no  council — his  determination  was  unalterably 
taken,  and  nothing  but  positive  orders  from  Gov- 
ernment could  change  it,  and  no  one  knows  how 
near  those  orders  came  to  be  issued.  The  Presi- 
dent was  beset  with  men,  high  in  position,  warn- 
ing and  beseeching  him  to  remove  Grant.  One, 
who  had  been  a  firm  friend  of  the  latter,  waited  on 
Mr.  Lincoln,  and  after  reminding  him  of  his  past 
friendship  for  Grant,  said  that  he  must  now  aban- 
don him.  He  evidently  was  not  equal  to  the  po- 


TRIED   A    LITTLE    LONGEB.  149 

sition  that  lie  occupied,  and  the  good  of  the  coun- 
try required  that  he  should  be  sacrificed.  The 
President  heard  him  through,  and  then,  pausing 
thoughtfully  a  moment,  replied :  "I  rather  like 
the  man.  I  think  I'll  try  him  a  little  longer" 
What  momentous  results  hung  on  that  little  sen- 
tence! If  it  had  been,  "111  try  him  no  longer," 
who  can  calculate  the  delay,  discouragements,  and 
loss  of  life  that  would  have  followed.  Grant, 
however,  determined  that  if  "  a  little  longer  "  time 
was  given  him,  he  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
orders  from  any  source,  until  his  fate  was  sealed. 
These  might  follow  him  as  fast  as  snow-flakes  seek 
the  earth,  yet  they  would  not  overtake  the  tramp 
of  his  victorious  battalions,  if  he  were  successful — 
and  if  not,  they  would  never  find  him.  He  took 
no  precautions  against  false  accusations  should  he 
fail— left  behind  no  defence  to  save  his  reputation. 
Silent,  calm,  and  resolute,  he  gave  all  his  atten- 
tion to  the  mighty  task  before  him.  It  is  true, 
his  most  intimate  biographer  states,  that  Grant 
did  not  determine  at  first  on  the  bold  course 
that  he  afterwards  took — that  his  object  in  getting 
below  Vicksburg  was  to  cooperate  with  Banks,  at 
Port  Hudson,  and  help  reduce  it,  when  both 
armies  could  move  against  Vicksburg.  But  we 
see  no  evidence  of  this  in  his  movements,  and  are 
inclined  to  think  the  statement  is  made  simply  be- 
cause such  was  the  drift  of  Grant's  orders,  and 


150  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

such  the  wish  of  Halleck  and  the  President.  In 
the  first  place,  Banks  was  the  senior  of  Grant,  and 
hence,  in  that  case,  would  have  assumed  supreme 
command,  leaving  the  latter  only  a  subordinate, 
and,  though  he  would  never  put  his  mere  personal 
ambition  against  the  public  service,  he  knew 
enough  of  Banks1  military  education  and  career, 
not  to  place  much  confidence  in  his  ability  to 
carry  out  such  an  expedition.  In  this  his  best 
officers  sympathized  with  him.  Besides,  more  than 
a  month  previous,  he  had  said  that  he  had  discover- 
ed a  good  wagon-road  across  the  peninsula,  from 
Milliken's  Bend  to  New  Carthage,  when  the  water 
was  low,  and  added,  "  My  expectation  is  for  some 
of  the  n^val  fleet  to  run  the  batteries  of  Vicks 
burg,  whilst  the  army  moves  through  by  this  new 
route.  Once  there,  I  will  move  to  Warrenton  or 
Grand  Gulf,  probably  the  latter.  From  either  of 
these  points,  there  are  good  roads  to  Jackson  and 
the  Black  River  bridge,  without  crossing  Black 
River.  I  will  keep  my  army  together,  and  see  to 
it  that  I  am  not  cut  off  from  my  supplies,  or  beat 
in  any  other  way  than  a  fair  fight.1"1 

But  what  had  he  to  do  with  Black  River  or 
Jackson,  lying  nearly  fifty  miles  directly  east  of 
Vicksburg,  and  nearly  three  times  that  distance 
northeast  from  the  point  at  which  he  proposed  to 
land  ?  To  march  back  inland,  fighting  as  he  did 
for  a  week  or  more,  was  certainly  an  extraordi- 


HIS   GBEAT   PULN   UNCHANGED.  151 

nary  way  to  reach  Banks,  at  Port  Hudson,  nearly 
two  hundred  miles  below.  More  than  this,  there 
was  no  change  of  circumstances  whatever,  after  he 
had  passed  Vicksburg,  to  induce  him  to  change 
his  plan,  if  that  was  to  cooperate  with  Banks. 
On  the  contrary,  the  changes  that  did  occur  were 
all  of  a  character  to  make  him  carry  it  out ;  for  he 
was  compelled  to  go  below  the  point  where  he  had 
calculated  he  could  cross  the  Mississippi  He  did 
not  anticipate  the  necessity  of  going  below  Grand 
Gulf.  The  point  where  he  eventually  planted  his 
army  on  the  east  shore,  was  so  low  down  as  to 
increase  the  hazard  of  the  enterprise  against  Vicks- 
burg, and  took  him  just  so  far  towards  Banks. 
In  proportion  as  he  increased  the  distance  he 
would  have  to  march  to  get  in  the  rear  of  Vicks- 
burg, in  that  same  proportion  did  he  give  the 
enemy  time  to  concentrate  his  forces  against  him. 
Hence,  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  u  circumstances  " 
induced  Grant  to  change  his  plan,  if  that  plan  was 
to  send  a  corps  to  Port  Hudson.  It  is  true  that 
Grant  had  hoped  to  open  an  inland  communica- 
tion, by  bayous,  through  which  transports  could 
pass,  and  so  his  route  for  supplies  be  kept  open. 
But,  by  the  time  he  had  got  one  vessel  through, 
low  water  made  further  navigation  impracticable 
and  he  had  to  resort  to  roads  and  bridges.  But 
all  this  took  place  before  he  started,  and  not  after 
lie  was  below.  Vicksburg.  More  than  this,  all  his 


152  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

efforts  on  the  east  shore  had  not  been  merely  to  get 
below  the  place,  but  behind  it,  and  there  he  evi- 
dently determined  to  plant  his  army. 

When  Grant  had  his  entire  army  well  in  hand, 
and  had  gathered  from  up  the  river  all  the  yawls 
and  boats  he  needed,  he  began  his  great  decisive 
movement.  Porter's  gunboats  had  shown  that 
they  could  pass  the  batteries  with  comparative 
impunity,  and  the  former  resolved  to  try  the  ex- 
periment of  getting  transports  past  also,  while  he 
marched  his  army  inland  down  the  river  to  meet 
them.  It  was  resolved  to  test  this  matter  at  night, 
and  the  plan  adopted  was,  to  have  the  iron-clads 
move  down  and  engage  the  batteries,  while  the 
transports,  under  cover  of  the  smoke  and  darkness, 
should  slip  quietly  by,  near  the  western  shore.  It 
was  a  desperate  enterprise,  to  which  men  could 
not  legitimately  be  ordered,  and  volunteers  were 
therefore  called  for.  So  many  offered,  that  the 
necessary  number  had  finally  to  be  drawn  by  lot 
Grant  resolved  to  try  the  experiment  first  with 
three  transports. 

A  little  before  midnight,  the  gunboats  moved 
from  their  moorings  and  dropped  silently  down 
the  river,  followed  by  the  transports.  Seven  iron- 
clads engaged  the  batteries,  while  the  river  steam- 
ers, towing  the  barges,  attempted  to  run  the  gaunt- 
let of  their  fire  for  fifteen  miles.  It  was  a  night 
of  intense  anxiety  to  Grant;  for  if  this  plan 


RUNNING   THE   BATTERIES.  153 

failed,  even  his  fertile  resources  could  see  no  way 
of  getting  in  the  rear  of  Vicksburg.  An  hour 
had  not  elapsed  after  the  boats  disappeared  in  the 
darkness,  before  the  thunder  of  artillery  shook  the 
shore,  followed  soon  after  by  the  flame  of  a  confla- 
gration, kindled  by  the  rebels,  to  light  up  the  bo- 
som of  the  Mississippi.  Under  its  blaze  the  poor 
transports  lay  revealed  as  distinctly  as  though  the 
noon-day  sun  was  shining,  while  the  men  on  board 
in  turn  could  see  the  soldiers  hurrying  through  the 
streets  of  Vicksburg,  and  working  the  guns.  They 
at  once  became  an  exposed  target  to  the  heavy  bat- 
teries, the  shells  of  which  cut  the  ropes  and  rods 
supporting  the  chimneys  of  the  boats,  burst  in  the 
pilot-houses,  and  among  the  machinery,  and  fill- 
ed the  air  on  every  side  with  their  flying  frag- 
ments. Yet  the  little  fleet  steamed  rapidly  on, 
hugging  the  opposite  shore,  hoping  under  its 
shadow  and  the  covering  smoke  to  escape  destruc- 
tion. Grant  stood  on  a  transport  located  just 
above  the  bend,  and  watched  the  movement  with 
the  deepest  anxiety.  He  was  within  range  of  the 
rebel  batteries,  and  shot  and  shell  fell  all  around 
him.  Yet  he  never  moved,  but  kept  his  eyes  on 
the  bosom  of  the  stream,  now  light  as  day,  where 
his  barges  moved,  mere  dark  specks  on  the  wa- 
ter. 

"Every  transport  was  struck,  and  two   were 
drawn  into  the  eddy,  and  ran  over  a  part  of  the 


154  LIFE   OF  GHAUT. 

distance  in  front  of  Vicksburg  no  less  than  three 
times.  The  Forest  Queen  was  disabled  by  a 
round  shot,  and  drifted  down  opposite  the  lower 
picket  stations,  where  the  gunboat  Tuscumbia 
took  her  in  tow,  and  landed  her  just  above  the  cre- 
vasse at  New  Carthage.  The  Henry  Clay  also  be- 
came disabled,  and  was  in  a  sinking  condition  soon 
after  coming  within  range  of  the  upper  batteries ; 
she  had  in  tow  a  barge  with  soldiers  on  board, 
which  was  cast  loose,  and  floated  down  the  stream. 
Not  long  afterwards  the  boat  itself  took  fire,  from 
the  explosion  of  a  shell,  and  burned  to  the  wa- 
ter's edge,  drifting  along  with  the  current,  a  flam- 
ing mass.  General  Sherman  was  in  a  small  boat, 
watching  the  bombardment,  and  picked  up  the 
pilot  as  he  floated  from  the  wreck  The  crew 
pushed  off  in  yawls  to  the  Louisiana  side,  where 
they  landed,  and  hid  themselves  behind  an  old 
levee,  during  the  cannonade.  After  it  had  ceased, 
they  made  their  way  back  through  the  submerged 
swamps,  to  camp." 

"  The  light  streamed  up  from  the  blazing  hull  of 
the  Henry  Clay,  and  threw  into  strong  relief 
against  the  shadows  of  night  the  other  transports, 
and  the  gunboats  at  their  fiery  work  The  cur- 
rents were  strong,  and  dangerous  eddies  delayed 
the  vessels ;  the  lights  glaring  in  every  direction, 
and  the  smoke  enveloping  the  squadron,  confused 
the  pilots ;  the  bulwarks,  even  of  the  iron-clads, 


PAST  THE   BATTERIES.  155 

were  crushed ;  and  the  uproar  of  artillery,  reecho- 
ing from  the  hills,  was  incessant  One  of  the 
heaviest  guns  of  the  enemy  was  seen  to  burst  ir. 
the  streets  of  Vicksburg,  and  the  whole  popula- 
tion was  awake  and  out  of  doors,  watching  the 
scene  on  which  its  destinies  depended.  For  two 
hours  and  forty  minutes  the  fleets  were  under 
fire.  But  at  last  the  transports  and  the  gunboats 
had  all  got  out  of  range,  the  blazing  beacons  on 
the  hills  and  streams  burned  low,  the  array  of 
batteries  belching  flame  and  noise  from  the  em- 
battled bluffs  had  ceased  their  utterances,  and 
silence  and  darkness  resumed  their  sway  over  the 
beleaguered  city,  and  the  swamps  and  rivers  that 
encircle  Vicksburg."  * 

The  next  night  Grant  sent  down  six  more 
steamers  towing  twelve  coal  barges,  of  which  all 
but  one  steamer,  and  half  the  barges,  got  through, 
though  most  were  more  or  less  damaged. 

In  the  mean  time,  McClernand,  by  order  of 
Grant,  had  taken  his  corps,  which  had  the  honor 
to  form  the  advance,  and  marched  across  the 
peninsula,  driving  the  enemy  out  of  Richmond, 
that  lay  in  his  route,  while  the  pioneer  corps, 
under  Captain  Patterson,  made  a  bridge  two 
hundred  feet  long,  of  the  logs  taken  from  the 
adjacent  houses.  The  columns  marched  over,  but 
the  difficulties  of  the  route  had  but  just  com- 
*CoL  Badeau. 


156  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

menced.  "Old  roads  had  to  be  repaired,  new 
ones  made,  boats  constructed  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  men  and  supplies,  twenty  miles  of  levee 
sleeplessly  guarded  day  and  night,  and  every  pos- 
sible precaution  taken  to  prevent  the  rising  flood 
from  breaking  through  the  levee  and  engulfing  us.11 
The  rebel  cavalry  were  also  hovering  around,  but, 
being  at  last  driven  across  Bayou  Vidal,  McCler- 
nand,  on  the  4th  of  April,  embarked  in  a  skiff, 
and,  accompanied  by  Osterhaus  and  his  staff, 
rowed  down  to  within  half  a  mile  of  Carthage,  on 
the  Mississippi  river.  Fired  upon  by  the  enemy, 
the  skiff  was  brought  to  a  halt,  but  not  until  it 
was  ascertained  that  the  levee  had  been  cut,  and 
the  water,  in  three  currents,  was  pouring  through, 
flooding  all  the  country.  Capturing  a  flat-boat, 
McClernand  mounted  it  with  two  howitzers,  and 
embarking  a  party,  sent  it  down  to  drive  the  enemy 
out  of  Carthage,  which  they  succeeded  in  doing. 

In  this  march,  McClernand  constructed  nearly 
two  thousand  feet  of  bridging  out  of  material 
created,  for  the  most  part,  on  the  occasion — com- 
pleting, in  three  days  and  nights,  the  great  mili- 
tary road  across  the  Peninsula,  from  the  Missis- 
sippi river  to  a  point  forty  miles  below  Vicks- 
burg. 

Grant's  orders  to  him  were  to  occupy  Grand 
Gulf,  expecting  that  the  troops  would  be  em- 
barked at  Carthage,  and  taken  down  in  trans- 


ATTACK   ON    GRAND   GULF  157 

ports  to  that  point.  But  this  being  found  im- 
practicable, the  only  course  left  open  was  for  the 
troops  to  keep  on  down  the  river,  nearly  fifty 
miles,  to  Hard  Times,  building  bridges  and  con- 
structing roads  as  they  marched.  This  place  at 
length  was  reached,  where  the  transports  were 
awaiting  them  to  carry  them  across  to  Grand 
Gulf,  the  spot  selected  by  Grant  for  landing. 
But  here,  again,  the  rebels  had  anticipated  him, 
and  formidable  batteries  frowned  from  the  place. 
The  17th  Corps,  under  McPherson,  had  follow- 
ed close  on  the  heels  of  McClernand,  and  Grant, 
after  consulting  with  Admiral  Porter,  resolved  to 
make  an  attempt  to  carry  the  works  by  assault 
The  plan  was,  for  Porter  to  move  up  and  silence 
the  batteries,  when  the  troops,  which  were  on 
transports,  would  land  and  finish  the  work.  On 
the  morning  of  the  29th  of  April,  the  Admiral 
steamed  boldly  up  with  his  six  iron-clads,  and  for 
five  hours  and  a  half  poured  in  shot  and  shell — at 
times  running  his  vessels  almost  up  to  the  muz- 
zles of  the  hostile  guns.  But  the  works  were  too 
elevated  to  be  easily  reached  from  the  water,  and 
although  he  could  with  his  terrible  fire  drive  the 
men  from  the  guns,  he  was  unable  to  dismount  a 
single  piece.  Grant  stood  on  a  transport  a  little 
distance  off,  and  watched  the  battle.  Porter  at 
length  withdrew,  having  lost  seventy-nine  in  killed 
and  wounded. 


158  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

Grant  then  signalled  to  him  to  be  taken  on 
board  the  flagship.  It  was  now  afternoon,  and  aa 
time  was  every  thing,  he  directed  the  Admiral,  with 
his  battered  fleet,  and  carrying  the  wounded,  to 
run  the  batteries  with  the  transports  that  very 
night,  while  he  disembarked  the  troops  at  Hard 
Times,  and  commenced  his  march  below.  He  in 
the  mean  time  directed  the  eastern  shore  to  be  ex- 
amined, with  a  view  of  ascertaining  the  locality 
and  state  of  the  roads  leading  from  Grand  Gulf 
back  into  the  interior.  The  whole  country  seemed 
flooded,  and  he  expected  to  float  down  the  river 
until  he  could  find  high  solid  ground ;  but  being 
informed  by  a  negro,  that  a  good  dry  road  led 
from  the  shore  at  Bruinsburg  directly  back  to  the 
bluffs,  which  were  two  miles  distant,  he  landed 
there.  In  the  mean  time,  he  directed  Sherman,  who 
had  not  yet  left  Milliken's  Bend,  to  make  a  demon- 
stration against  Vicksburg,  in  order  to  keep  Pem- 
berton,  the  commander  there,  from  sending  rein- 
forcements to  Grand  Gulf,  while  he  attacked  it 
This  Sherman  did  ;  but  on  the  1st  of  May,  he  re- 
ceived orders  from  Grant,  to  push  on  with  all  pos- 
sible speed  to  join  him.  The  latter  also  directed  a 
battery  to  be  planted  at  Perkins1  landing,  and  an 
improvised  gunboat  stationed  there  to  protect  his 
supplies  gathered  at  that  point  He  at  the  same 
time  ordered  two  more  tugs,  with  two  barges  car- 
rying provisions,  to  run  the  batteries  at  Vicksburg. 


THOROUGHLY   AROUSED.  159 

u  Do  this,"  he  said,  "  with  all  expedition,  in  forty- 
eight  hours  from  receipt  of  orders,  if  possible.  This 
is  of  immense  importance.  Should  the  crews  de- 
cline running  through,  call  on  the  commanding 
officer  for  volunteers,  and  discharge  the  crews." 
At  the  same  time  that  he  was  setting  every  thing  in 
motion  above  him,  he  was  marshalling  his  columns 
for  an  immediate  advance  up  the  river.  He 
directed  the  chief  commissary  of  the  Thirteenth 
Corps,  still  in  advance,  to  issue  three  days1  rations, 
which  were  to  last  five,  and  not  detain  the  officers 
drawing  them  to  give  vouchers  for  them,  as  was 
customary.  Every  hour  was  priceless,  and  not  a 
moment's  delay  could  be  allowed.  His  strong 
nature,  seemingly  so  sluggish,  now  exhibited  its 
inherent  strength ;  and  his  mind,  usually  slow  in 
its  operations,  worked  with  the  rapidity  of  light- 
ning. He  seemed  omnipresent,  and  to  embrace 
the  minutest  details  in  his  swift,  searching  survey 
of  his  position.  Nothing  was  left  to  subordinates 
but  to  execute  his  orders,  which  flew  from  one  to 
another  incessantly.  No  mistake  must  be  made, 
and  to  avoid  one  he  superintended  every  thing 
himself,  and  kept  in  the  advance  where  he  could 
do  it. 

He  had  not  transports  enough,  and  gunboats 
were  used  as  such,  to  hurry  the  arriving  troops 
over  the  river.  Tents  and  wagons  he  ordered  to 
be  left  behind  till  every  man  was  across.  His 


160  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

own  horse  shared  the  common  fate.  Subordinates 
caught  the  spirit  of  their  chief,  and  every  thing 
moved  as  if  the  fate  of  the  army  rested  on  the 
next  hour.  Hence,  the  shore  at  Bruinsburg,  was 
a  scene  of  intense  activity  all  day,  for  it  was  six 
miles  from  the  point  where  the  troops  were  em- 
barked, so  that  many  trips  had  to  be  made  with 
his  scant  transportation,  to  get  them  over ;  but  in 
twenty-four  hours  all  of  McClernand's  corps  and 
one  division  of  McPherson's  were  landed,  and  by 
sunset,  the  bluffs,  two  miles  distant,  were  reached. 
Grant  knew  the  moment  he  struck  inland,  the 
enemy  would  penetrate  his  design,  and  so  that 
very  afternoon  McClernand^s  corps  was  started 
off  towards  Port  Gibson,  lying  to  the  southeast 
of  Grand  Gulf,  the  occupation  of  which  would 
uncover  the  latter  place.  He  did  not  even  wait 
for  the  army-wagons  to  be  brought  across  the 
river,  but  with  three  day's  rations  moved  off  at 
once.  Grand  Gulf,  which  he  designed  to  make 
his  base  of  supplies,  must  be  taken  before  the 
enemy  at  Vicksburg,  informed  of  his  intentions, 
could  reinforce  the  place.  He  saw  that  it  must  be 
swift  marching,  quick  fighting,  sudden  and  con- 
stant victories,  or  the  storm  would  gather  so 
heavily  about  him  that  his  advance  would  be 
stopped.  Hence  he  ordered  as  little  baggage  to 
be  taken  as  possible,  and  set  the  example  of  re- 
trenchment himself.  Washburne,  member  of 


SCANT  BAGGAGE.  161 

Congress  from  Illinois,  his  ever  fast  friend,  accom- 
panied the  expedition,  and  says  that  Grant  took 
with  him  "  neither  a  horse,  nor  an  orderly,  nor  a 
camp-chest,  nor  an  overcoat,  nor  a  blanket,  nor 
even  a  clean  shirt.  His  entire  baggage  for  six 
days  was  a  tooth-brush.  He  fared  like  the  com- 
monest soldier  in  his  command,  partaking  of  his 
rations  and  sleeping  upon  the  ground,  with  no 
covering  but  the  canopy  of  heaven."  This  shows 
not  only  how  terribly  in  earnest  Grant  at  this 
point  was,  but  also  how  thoroughly  he  compre- 
hended the  peril  of  his  situation. 

McClernand's  corps  started  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  kept  up  its  march  till  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  it  was  suddenly 
brought  to  a  halt  by  a  battery  hi  its  path.  At 
daybreak  this  was  reconnoitred. 

The  rebel  commander  at  Grand  Gulf,  informed 
of  Grant's  movements,  had  marched  promptly 
out  with  eleven  thousand  men,  and  taken  a  strong 
position  along  some  deep  ravines,  flanked  by  heavy 
woods  and  canebrakes.  McClernand,  however, 
deployed  his  men  the  best  way  he  could,  and  ad- 
vanced to  the  attack.  The  first  thunder  of  artil- 
lery roused  Grant,  who  was  still  at  the  landing, 
eight  miles  off,  to  the  peril  of  a  repulse,  and 
ordering  McPherson  to  push  on  as  fast  as  possi- 
ble, borrowed  a  horse  (for  his  own  was  not  yet 
across),  and  with  only  his  staff  accompanying  him, 


162  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

galloped  to  the  battle-field.  The  moment  he 
arrived,  he  assumed  command,  and  pressed  the 
rebel  position  with  relentless  severity.  In  a  few 
hours  McPherson's  columns  appeared  on  the  field, 
when  Grant  ordered  him  at  once  to  move  a  bri- 
gade to  the  help  of  Osterhaus,  on  the  left,  who 
could  make  no  headway  against  the  enemy.  Grant 
accompanied  this  brigade  in  person,  and  directed 
it  to  charge  across  a  ravine  on  the  rebel  flank, 
while  Osterhaus  should  assault  in  front.  It  was 
done  with  a  cheer,  and  Grant,  with  a  smile,  saw 
the  hostile  ranks  give  way,  and  after  a  short  strug- 
gle to  bear  up  against  the  shock,  turn  in  swift 
retreat.  Position  after  position  was  now  carried, 
until  the  whole  rebel  army  was  driven  back.  The 
victorious  troops  followed  until  darkness  shut  out 
every  thing  from  view,  when  a  halt  was  ordered, 
at  a  point  only  two  miles  from  Port  Gibson.  Di- 
recting that  no  camp-fires  should  be  lighted,  except 
hi  the  rear,  or  in  deep  gullies,  and  that  the  artil- 
lery be  placed  so  as  to  command  the  surrounding 
country,  Grant  ordered  McClernand  to  attack  the 
enemy  at  daybreak.  He  then  sat  down  and  wrote 
his  despatch  to  Washington  by  moonlight. 

His  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  in  this  battle 
was  a  little  over  eight  hundred ;  that  of  the  ene- 
my somewhat  less,  as  he  was  protected  by  his 
position.  Grant,  however,  took  six  hundred  and 
fifty  prisoners,  and  six  guns.  Bo  wen,  the  rebel 


OCCUPIES   GRAND   GULF.  163 

general,  did  not  wait  for  daybreak,  but  decamped 
in  the  night  across  the  Bayou  Pierre,  destroying 
the  bridge  behind  him.  McClernaiid  was  at  once 
set  to  work  to  rebuild  it,  which  took  all  day.  The 
next,  the  third,  Grant  pushed  on  the  forces  under 
McPherson,  who  crowded  the  enemy  back,  driving 
them  through  Willow  Springs,  a  distance  of  fifteen 
miles  from  Port  Gibson,  and  over  the  Big  Black 
River  in  such  haste,  that  they  had  not  time  to  de- 
stroy the  bridge. 

These  successes  compelled  the  evacuation  of 
Grand  Gulf,  and  on  the  same  day  Grant,  taking 
one  of  Logan's  brigades,  and  an  escort  of  cavalry, 
left  Willow  Springs  for  that  place.  He  found 
Porter  in  possession  of  it.  He  had  now  for  three 
days  been  almost  constantly  in  the  saddle,  not 
having  had  his  clothes  off  during  that  time,  but 
snatching  his  repose  when  and  where  he  could. 
Going  aboard  one  of  the  gunboats,  he  borrowed  a 
change  of  linen,  and  then  sat  down  and  wrote 
despatches  till  midnight. 


CHAPTEE  X. 

THE     GREAT     MAECH 

A.  Perilous  Resolve — Outs  loose  from  his  Base — Untiring  Activity 
— Urgent  Orders  —  Sherman's  Arrival — His  Astonishment — 
Grant  Marches  for  Jackson — Address  to  his  Troops — His  little 
Son  accompanies  him — Despatch  to  Halleck — McPherson  de- 
feats Johnston — Jackson  evacuated — Grant's  Son  the  first  to 
enter  it — Sherman  left  to  destroy  Public  Property — The  Army 
marches  back  toward  Vicksburg — Johnston  outmarched — Bat- 
tle of  Champion's  Hill — Grant  with  his  Boy  under  Fire— 
"  The  Hill  of  Death  "—Battle  of  Black  River— Before  Vicks- 
burg— Sherman's  Opinion  of  the  Campaign — Results  of  it — 
Its  Resemblance  to  Napoleon's  Italian  Campaign. 

IT  is  stated  that,  up  to  this  time,  Grant  had  not 
abandoned  the  design  of  establishing  himself  at 
Grand  Gulf,  and  sending  a  corps  to  the  aid  of 
Banks.  Be  that  as  it  may,  all  his  movements 
looked  in  a  different  direction.  A  letter  which  he 
here  received  from  Banks,  stating  that  he  would 
not  be  at  Port  Hudson  for  a  week  to  come,  left 
no  room  for  further  hesitation,  if  it  ever  existed 
But  instead  of  pushing  directly  for  Vicksburg, 
Grant  having  learned  that  a  large  army  was  gath- 
ering in  the  interior  to  reinforce  it,  which  would 
make  the  garrison  outnumber  his  army,  he  deter- 
mined to  throw  himself  between  the  two,  and 
prevent  the  j  unction.  At  the  same  time,  he  wished 


A  DARING  RESOLUTION  165 

to  seize  Jackson,  fifty  miles  in  rear  of  Vicksburg, 
and  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  railroads  by 
which  the  garrison  was  supplied.  It  was  a  bold, 
perilous  movement.  He  might  not  prevent  the 
junction  of  the  two  armies,  when  he  would  be  too 
feeble  to  offer  battle,  while  to  keep  open  his  com- 
munication with  Grand  Gulf,  his  depot  of  supplies 
fifty  miles  distant  would  require  half  of  his  army 
In  this  dilemma,  he  took  the  daring  resolution  of 
cutting  loose  from  his  base  altogether,  and  with 
only  three  days'  rations  in  the  haversacks  of  the 
soldiers,  swing  his  army  at  once  into  the  interior, 
trusting  to  the  resources  of  the  country  to  furnish 
the  balance  of  the  supplies.  He  knew  that  this 
step  was  looked  upon  with  alarm  by  his  best  offi- 
cers. Not  that  they  feared  for  themselves,  for 
more  loyal,  fearless,  and  gallant  subordinates 
never  gathered  around  a  great  leader ;  but  they 
feared  failure  and  ruin  to  the  army,  and  damage 
to  the  common  cause.  They  therefore  respectfully 
urged  him  not  to  attempt  it ;  but  he  stood  firm, 
though  he  stood  alone.  He  knew,  moreover,  that 
if  his  purpose  was  known  to  the  Government,  he 
would  be  promptly  ordered  to  face  about.  Still, 
he  did  not  waver  a  moment.  This  quiet  faith  in 
himself  invests  him  with  a  grandeur  greater  even 
than  his  victories. 

Without  parade,  quietly,  yet  with  a  resolution 
fixed  as  the  granite  hills,  he,  at  midnight  on  the 


166  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

3d  of  May,  mounted  his  horse,  "  turned  his  back 
on  the  Mississippi  River,"  and  started  for  the  ad- 
vance. The  die  was  cast ;  it  was  now  victory  or 
annihilation,  glory  or  disgrace,  life  or  death,  with 
him  and  his  noble  army.  He  knew  all  this,  as 
he  rode  on  through  the  deep  night,  but  he  felt  no 
misgivings,  no  regrets.  Thoughtful  and  solemn, 
as  befitting  so  momentous  a  decision,  he  was  never- 
theless borne  up  by  a  serene  confidence  in  the  cor- 
rectness of  his  judgment.  Paralyzed  by  no  fore- 
bodings, his  mental  faculties,  instead  of  being 
depressed  by  the  weight  of  responsibility  he  had 
taken  on  himself,  were  roused  into  tenfold  activity 
No  orders  could  reach  him  now,  until  it  was  too 
late  to  obey  them.  Unfettered  and  free,  he  was 
in  just  the  position  for  which  nature  designed 
him,  and  he  went  to  work  with  an  energy  and 
power  that  astonish  us.  The  army  must  be  got 
in  hand  as  quickly  as  untiring  efforts,  and  work 
by  night  and  day,  could  do  it ;  and  then  he  meant 
his  motto  should  be  that  of  Danton's,  "  Audace, 
audace,  toujours  audace"  His  staff  was  now 
allowed  scarcely  a  moment's  rest,  and  his  orders 
flew  from  point  to  point  with  bewildering  rapid- 
ity. Sherman  was  hurried  forward  with  urgent 
appeals.  Hurlbut,  at  Memphis,  was  directed  to 
send  on  a  division  at  once ;  another  was  ordered 
from  Milliken's  Bend,  with  directions  to  march 
by  brigades.  At  the  same  time,  the  road  across 


UEGENT  ORDEBS.  167 

the  peninsula  was  ordered  to  be  shortened,  so  that 
the  trains  could  be  pushed  forward  more  rapidly. 
He  .also  sent  a  despatch  to  the  commissary  at 
Grand  Gulf  to  issue  three  days'  rations,  which 
must  be  made  to  last  five,  "  if  not  seven,  days," 
without  waiting  to  go  through  the  prescribed 
forms.  A  staff-officer  was  hurried  thither  with  a 
carte  blanche  to  use  Grant's  name  in  any  way  ne- 
cessary to  rush  on  the  supplies,  while  the  hard- 
worked  commissary  was  overwhelmed  with  the 
questions,  "  How  many  teams  have  been  loaded 
with  rations  and  sent  forward  ?  How  many  wag- 
ons have  you  ferried  over  the  river  ?  How  many 
are  still  to  bring  over?  "What  teams  have  gone 
back  for  rations?"  and  so  on.  He  heard  the 
sound  of  the  mustering  hosts,  whose  junction 
must  be  prevented  at  all  hazards,  and  every  hour 
was  pregnant  with  destiny  to  him.  At  the  same 
time,  he  directed  McClernand  to  sweep  the  sur- 
rounding country  for  forage,  and  McPherson  to 
push  his  reconnoissance  up  to  the  outposts  of  Vicks- 
burg,  in  order  to  make  the  commander  there  be- 
lieve that  he  designed  to  move  directly  on  the  place. 
As  soon  as  Sherman's  columns  got  within  sup- 
porting distance,  McPherson  and  McClernand 
were  pushed  forward.  Sherman,  when  he  reach- 
ed Hankinson's  Ferry,  was  amazed  at  the  evidence 
of  hurry  on  every  side.  The  trains  and  escorting 
troops  were  in  confusion,  each  team  hurrying  for- 


168  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

ward  without  stopping  to  consider  the  order  of  its 
going.  Ignorant  of  Grant's  determination  to  swing 
loose  from  his  base,  he  wrote  to  him,  describing  the 
chaos  he  had  found  on  the  road,  and  begging  him 
to  stop  till  he  could  get  things  arranged  more  sys- 
tematically ;  for,  said  he,  "  this  road  will  be  jam- 
med, as  sure  as  life,  if  you  attempt  to  supply  fifty 
thousand  men  by  one  single  road."  To  this  COIL  - 
munication  he  received  the  following  reply,  which 
must  have  startled  him  beyond  expression :  "  I  do 
not  calculate  upon  the  possibility  of  supplying  the 
army  with  full  rations  from  Grand  Gulf.  I  know 
it  will  be  impossible  without  constructing  addi- 
tional roads.  What  I  do  expect,  however,  is  to 
get  up  what  rations  of  hard-bread,  coffee,  and  salt 
we  can,  and  make  the  country  furnish  the  balance. 
We  started  from  Bruinsburg  with  an  average  of 
about  two  days'  rations,  and  I  received  no  more 
from  our  own  supplies  for  some  days  ;  abundance 
was  found  in  the  mean  time.  Some  corn-meal, 
bacon,  and  vegetables  were  found,  and  an  abun- 
dance of  beef  and  mutton.  A  delay  would  give  the 
enemy  time  to  reinforce  and  fortify.  If  Blair 
was  up  now,  I  believe  we  could  be  in  Vicksburg 
in  seven  days.  The  command  here  has  an  aver- 
age of  about  three  days'  rations,  which  could  be 
made  to  last  that  time.  You  are  in  a  country 
where  the  troops  have  already  lived  off  the  people 
for  some  days,  and  may  find  provisions  more 


A  NOBLE  ADDBESS.  169 

scarce  ;  but,  as  we  get  upon  new  soil,  they  are 
more  abundant,  particularly  in  corn  and  cattle. 
Bring  Blair's  two  brigades  up  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible  " 

The  movements  of  the  several  corps  and  divis- 
ions cannot  be  described  with  any  satisfaction  to  the 
general  reader.  Grant  had  not  proceeded  far  from 
Hankinson's  Ferry,  before  he  learned  that  Pem- 
berton  was  concentrating  his  troops  at  Edwards1 
Station,  some  twenty-five  miles  out  of  Vicksburg, 
towards  which  the  latter  supposed  our  columns 
were  moving.  This  caused  a  change  in  the  order 
and  direction  of  the  march,  for  Grant  was  deter- 
mined to  get  into  Jackson,  destroy  the  stores 
there,  and  defeat  Johnston,  who  was  hastening 
towards  it,  before  the  latter  could  effect  a  junction 
with  Pemberton.  Aware  of  the  short  rations, 
heavy  marching,  and  constant  fighting  awaiting 
his  army,  Grant,  before  leaving  Hankinson's 
Ferry,  issued  the  following  stirring  address  to  his 
troops,  which  has  the  ring  of  some  of  Napoleon's 
famous  proclamations : 

HEADQUARTERS  AEMT  OF  THE  TENNESSEE,  IN  THE  FIELD,  ) 
HANEJNSON'B  FERBY,  May  7.      ) 

Soldiers  of  tfo  Army  of  Tennessee  : 

Once  more  I  thank  you  for  adding  another  victory  to 
the  long  list  of  those  previously  \ron  by  your  valor  and 
endurance.  The  triumph  gained  over  the  enemy  near 
Port  Gibson,  on  the  first,  was  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  war.  The  capture  of  five  cannon,  and  more 
8 


170  LIFE  OP  GRANT. 

then  one  thousand  prisoners,  the  possession  of  Grand 
Gulf,  and  a  firm  foothold  on  the  highlands  between  the 
Big  Black  and  Bayou  Pierre,  from  whence  we  threaten 
the  whole  line  of  the  enemy,  are  among  the  fruits  of  this 
brilliant   achievement.      The   march    from   Milliken's 
Bend  to  the  point  opposite  Grand  Gulf,  was  made  in 
stormy  weather,  over  the  worst  of  roads.     Bridges  and 
ferries  had  to  be  constructed.     Moving  by  night  as  well 
as  by  day,  with  labor  incessant,  and  extraordinary  pri- 
vations, endured  by  men  and  officers,  such  as  have  been 
rarely  paralleled  in  any  campaign,  not  a  murmur  or 
complaint  has  been  uttered.     A  few  days  continuance 
of  the  same  zeal  and  constancy,  will  secure  to  this  army 
crowning  victories  over  the  rebellion. 

More  difficulties  and  privations  are  before  us ;  let  us 
endure  them  manfully.  Other  battles  are  to  be  fought ; 
let  us  fight  them  bravely.  A  grateful  country  will  re- 
joice at  our  success,  and  history  will  record  it  with  im- 
mortal honor.  U.  S.  GRANT, 

Brig.-Gen.  Commanding. 

He  set  an  example  of  the  privations  and  endur- 
ance which  he  required  of  his  troops.  Satisfied 
with  his  hard  bread  and  coffee,  sleeping  on  the 
porch  of  some  house  along  the  road,  or  wherever 
he  found  time  to  take  a  little  repose,  he  showed 
himself  impervious  to  fatigue,  and  indifferent  to 
ordinary  comforts.  A  little  son,  only  thirteen 
years  of  age,  accompanied  him  in  this  trying, 
strange  campaign,  and,  though  hardly  big  enough 
to  sit  a  horse,  was  seen  galloping  alongside  of  his 
father.  Taking  the  hard  fare  of  the  day  without 
murmuring,  he  slept  in  his  strong  arms  by  night. 
The  stern  leader,  carrying  the  fate  of  the  army 


A   SIGNIFICANT   DESPATCH.  171 

on  his  heart,  could  yet  find  time  to  enjoy  the  prat- 
tle of  his  boy.  and  the  two  moved  on  amid  the 
crowding  columns,  and  into  the  confused  noise  of 
battle,  a  strange  contrast,  yet  a  touching  picture, 
which  often  brought  the  tears  to  the  soldiers1  eyes. 
To  McPherson  was  assigned  the  duty  of  push- 
ing forward  and  seizing  Jackson,  while  the  main 
army  was  held  back  to  watch  Pemberton.  The 
former  pushed  on  in  the  direction  marked  out  by 
Grant,  who,  day  by  day,  changed  the  details  of 
his  main  plan  according  as  the  movements  of  the 
enemy  made  it  necessary.  Arriving  at  Cayuga, 
he,  on  the  llth  of  May,  wrote  to  Halleck,  stating 
his  position  and  purpose,  and  closed  with  the  fol- 
lowing significant  sentence :  "  As  I  shall  communi- 
cate with  Grand  Gulf  no  more,  unless  it  becomes  ne- 
cessary to  send  a  train  with  a  heavy  escort,  YOU  MAY 

NOT  HEAR  FROM  ME  AGAIN  FOR  SEVERAL  DAYS." 

He  certainly  did  not  wish  to  hear  from  him,  for 
he  knew  the  General-in-Chief  well,  and  feared  an 
order  to  abandon  at  once  his  daring  movement, 
which  he  had  no  intention  of  doing.  It  was  well 
for  the  country  that  communication  was  cut  off;  foi 
that  very  day  a  despatch  was  flashing  along  the 
wires  ordering  him  to  return  and  cooperate  with 
Banks.  "When  it  finally  reached  Grant  he  was  re- 
turning, though  not  to  Grand  Gulf,  but  to  Vicks- 
burg,  over  the  shattered  battalions  of  Pemberton. 
McPherson  moved  forward,  and  on  the  12th 


172  LIFE  OF   GRANT. 

came  upon  the  enemy,  numbering  five  thousanvi, 
posted  in  a  strong  position,  within  two  miles  of 
Raymond.  Sweeping  these  from  his  path,  in  a 
short,  sharp  battle,  he  kept  on  towards  Jackson — 
marching  on  the  14th  twelve  miles  through  a 
blinding,  pitiless  storm.  At  ten  o'clock  he  drew 
up  his  drenched  army  before  the  formidable  breast- 
works of  the  enemy,  who  were  not  only  strongly 
protected,  but  also  out-numbered  him  heavily. 
The  storm  now  broke,  and  the  spring  sun  shone 
forth  in  all  its  splendor,  making  the  rain-drops  on 
the  trees  and  meadows  shine  like  jewels.  Awak- 
ened by  the  freshness  and  beauty,  the  birds  came 
out  and  filled  the  air  with  their  gay  carols,  a  rain- 
bow spanned  the  heavens,  and  all  combined  to 
make  it  a  scene  of  transcendent  loveliness.  Amid 
this  peaceful  splendor,  McPherson  drew  up  his 
fifteen  thousand  bayonets,  and  riding  along  the 
glittering  line  on  his  splendid  black  charger, 
aroused  the  enthusiasm  of  his  men  by  a  stirring 
appeal.  As  soon  as  the  artillery  had  got  into  posi- 
tion and  thoroughly  searched  the  hostile  works,  he 
ordered  a  charge.  At  first,  slowly  and  with 
measured  steps,  as  though  on  a  dress  parade, 
Croker's  whole  line  moved  over  the  field,  closing 
up,  calmly,  the  ugly  rents  made  by  the  rebel  artil- 
lery, and  kept  sternly  on  without  returning  a  shot 
till  within  thirty  yards  of  the  works,  when  a  sud 
den  flash  leaped  from  the  ranks,  followed  by  a 


ENTERS   JACKSON.  173 

cheer  that  shook  the  field;  and  then,  with  one 
bound,  they  scaled  the  ramparts  and  poured  like 
a  resistless  flood  through  the  hostile  camp,  scatter- 
ing every  thing  from  their  path,  and  chasing  the 
flying  foe  into  Jackson, 

Grant  had  by  this  movement  completely  deceiv- 
ed Pemberton,  who  all  this  time  lay  at  Edwards1 
Station  awaiting  an  attack  from  him. 

Not  knowing  what  force  Johnston  might  have 
been  able  to  concentrate  at  Jackson,  and  its  pos- 
session being  of  vital  importance  to  him,  Grant 
had  directed  Sherman  to  follow  McPherson,  to 
aid  him  if  necessary ;  and  his  presence  at  the  criti- 
cal moment  on  the  flank  of  the  enemy  hastened 
his  flight. 

McPherson,  now  moving  forward,  came,  at 
length,  in  sight  of  the  rebel  intrenchments  and 
rifle-pits  in  front  of  Jackson.  These  extended  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  presented  a  formi- 
dable appearance.  Grant,  in  the  mean  time,  had 
joined  Sherman,  and  seeing  how  strong  and  ex- 
tensive the  works  were,  directed  him  to  send  a 
force  to  the  extreme  right,  to  see  if  a  flank  move- 
ment could  not  be  made  in  that  direction.  After 
waiting  some  time  to  hear  the  result  of  this  move- 
ment, and  becoming  impatient  at  the  delay,  he,  ac- 
companied only  by  his  staff  and  little  boy,  rode 
over  to  see  about  it.  He  found  that  the  enemy 
had  evacuated  the  place,  and  the  road  leading  intc 


174  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

it  was  clear.  He  immediately  pushed  forward, 
when  his  son  clapped  spurs  to  his  horse,  and 
dashing  ahead,  galloped  alone  into  the  capital  of 
the  State,  the  first  into  it.  Grant  smiled  at  his 
enthusiam,  and  followed  him  leisurely. 

He  was  now  at  the  goal  of  his  march  westward, 
in  which  he  had  shattered  Johnston's  army  though 
he  had  not  captured  it,  as  he  hoped  to  do.  On  the 
contrary  it  had  escaped  to  the  north,  evidently  with 
the  intention  of  coming  down  on  the  railroad  west 
of  him,  and  joining  Pemberton.  This  he  must 
prevent  at  all  hazards,  and  calling  his  corps  com- 
manders around  him  in  the  State  Hall  that  after- 
noon, he  gave  them  their  instructions.  Sherman's 
duty  was  to  occupy  the  town  and  works,  and  de- 
stroy the  railroad  track,  stores,  and  property  that 
could  aid  the  enemy. 

The  night  before,  Johnston  had  sent  a  despatch, 
by  three  different  messengers,  to  Pemberton,  re- 
questing him  to  hasten  up,  and  attack  Grant's 
rear  so  that  he  might  be  kept  at  bay  until  the 
troops  that  were  being  hurried  forward  could  have 
time  to  come  up.  One  of  these  despatches  was 
sent  by  a  man  who  was  in  Jackson  as  a  Union 
spy,  whither  he  had  travelled  from  Memphis. 
He  took  it  straight  to  McPherson,  who  sent  it 
and  the  bearer  to  Grant.  The  latter,  therefore, 
became  fully  aware  of  the  enemy's  plans,  and 
could  act  with  certainty  and  promptness.  Mo 


OUTWITS    THE    ENEMY.  175 

Pherson,  in  consequence,  was  sent  that  afternoon 
back  towards  Bolton,  distant  some  twenty  miles — 
the  nearest  place  that  Johnston  could  strike  the  rail- 
road in  his  march  to  join  Pemberton.  To  Mc- 
Clernand,  who  was  far  in  the  rear,  he  also  sent  a 
despatch  directing  him  to  march  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. His  orders  were  urgent.  General  Blair,  at 
Auburn,  was  also  ordered  to  move  towards  the  same 
point,  and  the  tired  columns  were  soon  sweeping 
over  the  broken  country  towards  a  common  cen- 
tre. The  rains  had  made  the  roads  heavy,  and 
the  troops  were  weary,  but  they  marched  cheer- 
fully off. 

Pemberton  was  still  at  Edwards1  Station,  where 
he  had  called  a  council  of  war  to  decide  whether 
he  should  obey  Johnston's  order  to  move  on 
Grant's  rear.  At  this  very  time,  the  latter  was 
being  driven  from  Jackson.  Completely  deceived 
by  the  celerity  of  his  adversary's  movements,  Pem- 
berton finally  determined  to  act  on  his  own  judg- 
ment, and  by  a  brilliant  movement  cut  Grant's 
communication  with  Grand  Gulf.  He  did  not 
know  that  Grant  had  done  this  for  himself  Long 
ago,  and  would  be,  on  that  very  afternoon  and  night, 
bearing  down  upon  him  with  his  victorious  col- 
umns. He,  however,  soon  discovered  his  mistake, 
and  reversing  his  march  moved  back  to  Edwards 
Station,  towards  which  Grant's  army  was  advanc- 
ing along  three  different  roads.  McClernand  was 


176  LITE    OF  GRANT. 

ordered  to  push  Blair's  and  A,  P.  Smith's  divis- 
ions along  by  the  southern  road — Carr's  and  Os- 
terhaus'  by  the  middle  road,  while  Hovey  kept 
along  the  northern  one,  which  runs  direct  from 
Bolton  to  it 

Smith's  advance  first  came  upon  the  enemy's 
skirmishers,  when  firing  commenced.  Pemberton 
kept  retiring,  until  by  the  fierce  manner  in  which 
he  was  pressed  he  found,  to  his  astonishment,  that 
Grant's  army  was  in  his  front  He  then  formed 
his  line  of  battle,  with  his  left  resting  on  Cham- 
pion Hill,  the  highest  ground  in  sight  The  slopes 
of  this  hill  were  heavily  wooded,  arid  seamed  with 
ravines,  which  made  it  difficult  for  troops  to  ad- 
vance up  them  in  any  order.  The  top  was  cleared 
of  all  trees  and  underbrush,  thus  furnishing  a 
fine  position  for  the  enemy's  artillery,  which, 
planted  there,  swept  the  entire  country  around. 

Peinberton's  line  of  battle  extended  for  four 
miles,  running  southward  from  this  crest — his 
centre  being  on  the  middle  road  from  Raymond. 
Hovey's  division  came  up  on  the  Bolton  road  in 
front  of  the  hilL  Logan,  with  two  brigades,  was 
to  the  right  of  the  road,  and  farther  advanced. 

Grant  labored  under  great  disadvantage  in  be- 
ing ignorant  of  the  country,  while  the  enemy  was 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  every  foot  of  it.  Nor 
was  this  all ;  the  former  could  not  spare  time  to 
make  thorough  reconnoissances  nor  gradual  ap 


SPIES.  177 

preaches.  Swung  out  as  his  army  was  into  the 
open  country,  it  must  keep  moving  till  its  base  was 
secured.  Besides,  delay  would  give  time  for 
the  rebel  reinforcements  to  arrive,  and  combine 
against  him.  He  must,  therefore,  not  only  fight 
the  enemy  on  unknown  ground,  but  fight  him  as 
soon  as  found.  Hence  he  resolved  to  wait  here 
only  long  enough  to  get  a  part  of  his  army  up,  and 
the  rest  in  supporting  distance,  before  he  moved 
on  the  enemy's  position. 

That  night  two  men  employed  on  the  railroad 
came  into  his  lines,  and  reported  Pemberton's  for- 
ces to  be  twenty  thousand  strong.  Grant  was 
waked  up  at  daybreak  to  receive  these  messengers. 
He  immediately  sent  back  to  Sherman,  who  was 
finishing  the  work  of  destruction  at  Jackson,  to 
hurry  forward  to  his  support,  as  the  entire  force 
of  the  enemy  was  immediately  in  front,  and  a 
battle  might  be  brought  on  at  any  moment.  The 
despatch  was  urgent,  and  in  one  hour  after  Sher- 
man received  it,  the  columns  of  his  advance 
division  were  in  motion.  At  half  past  six,  a  de- 
spatch was  received  from  McPherson,  asking  Grant 
to  come  to  the  front  immediately.  The  latter  gal- 
loped off  at  once,  and  on  his  way  found  the  road 
blocked  with  teams,  so  that  the  troops  could  not 
pass.  These  he  ordered  to  be  drawn  up  one  side 
immediately,  so  as  to  to  give  room  for  the  marching 
columns.  Reaching  Hovey,  he  found  him  drawn  up 
8* 


178  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

in  order  of  battle,  but  he  would  not  let  him  com* 
mence  the  attack  until  he  could  hear  from  MeCler- 
nand,  moving  up  on  the  southern  road.  Officer  after 
officer  was  sent  with  headlong  speed  to  the  latter, 
with  orders  to  press  on  with  all  haste.  "Close  up 
your  forces  expeditiously  as  possible,"  he  said. 

The  firing  which  had  been  kept  up  between 
Hovey's  and  the  enemy's  skirmishers  all  the 
morning,  increased  in  fierceness,  until  by  eleven 
o'clock  the  battle  was  fairly  opened.  The  bald 
top  of  the  hill  crowned  with  the  hostile  batteries, 
was  evidently  the  key  to  the  whole  position  of  the 
enemy,  and  hence  the  great  struggle  centred  here. 
McPherson  posted  two  batteries  in  an  advanta- 
geous position,  and  opened  a  terrible  fire  upon 
it.  Under  cover  of  it  Hovey  pushed  boldly  for- 
ward in  the  face  of  a  murderous  fire  of  musketry, 
and  began  to  mount  the  tangled  slope.  Inch  by 
inch,  the  irregular  line  pressed  upward,  until  at 
last  the  height  was  won,  and  several  guns  and 
prisoners  fell  into  his  hands.  But  the  enemy  ral- 
lied behind  a  deep  cut  in  the  road,  which  had  been 
sunk  in  the  ridge,  while  Pemberton,  informed  of 
the  repulse  at  this  vital  point,  hurried  forward 
reinforcements  that  now  came  pouring  along  the 
crest  with  loud  yells.  These  charging  with  the 
re-formed  troops  on  Hovey,  bore  him  back,  after  a 
gallant  attempt  on  his  part  to  hold  his  ground. 
Grant  all  this  time  stood  on  an  eminence  that  was 


FIRE   WITH   HIS    SON.  179 

in  range  of  the  enemy's  guns,  with  his  little  son  by 
his  side,  watching  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  fight 
with  the  intensest  interest,  and  wondering  at  the 
unaccountable  detention  of  McClernand.  The  balls 
whistled  around  them,  but  he  thought  only  of  the 
struggle,  on  the  issue  of  which  his  fate  depended. 
If  McClernand's  four  divisions  would  only  come 
up,  victory  would  be  certain  ;  and  he  therefore 
again  despatched  an  officer  urging  him  forward. 
But  this  commander  was  kept  back  by  a  small 
force,  the  size  of  which  he  could  not  ascertain  hi 
the  thickly-wooded  country  through  which  he  had 
to  move.  But  the  heavy  roar  of  artillery,  and 
crash  of  musketry  in  front,  would  have  told  him 
on  a  moment's  reflection,  that  the  decisive  battle 
was  being  fought  there,  and  that  the  force  that 
hovered  around  his  advance,  could  only  be  a  thin 
curtain  of  troops,  whose  sole  object  was  to  keep 
him  away  from  the  spot  where  the  great  struggle 
was  going  on.  Grant's  anxiety  was  becoming 
painful,  when  he  saw  a  brigade  of  Crocker's,  inarch- 
ing  rapidly  on  the  field.  He  immediately  sent  it 
in  to  the  aid  of  Hovey,  who  could  hardly  hold  his 
own.  Thus  strengthened,  this  gallant  officer  was 
able  to  maintain  his  ground.  The  enemy,  how- 
ever, pressed  heavily  upon  him,  and  the  fifteen 
thousand  men  under  McClernand  were  sorely 
needed.  Again  forced  to  retire,  Hovey  sent  back 
for  help.  But  Grant  expected  every  moment  to 


180  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

hear  the  roar  of  McClernancTs  guns  to  the  south, 
and  delayed,  for  he  had  no  troops  to  spare.  At 
this  critical  moment,  it  seemed  that  the  enemy 
would  win  and  hold  the  height.  Seeing  the  dan- 
ger, Grant  at  last  ordered  two  more  of  Crocker's 
brigades  into  the  gap  between  Logan  and  Hovey, 
which  had  been  made  by  the  movement  of  the 
former  farther  to  the  right;  while  McPherson, 
with  such  troops  as  he  could  gather,  was  directed 
to  sweep  round  to  the  rebel  rear.  McPherson 
moved  off  at  the  double  quick,  while  Crocker's 
brigades  charged  with  a  cheer,  rolling  back  the 
hostile  line.  But  fresh  reinforcements  kept  pour- 
ing in  from  that  portion  of  the  rebel  line  on  which 
McClernand  should  have  been  pressing,  and  the 
danger  of  defeat  was  imminent,  when  a  brigade  of 
Logan's,  marching  at  the  double  quick,  charged 
across  a  ravine  in  flank  and  up  the  hill,  carrying 
an  important  position  and  capturing  seven  guns. 
In  the  mean  time  McPherson  had  worked  so  far 
around  to  the  enemy's  rear,  that,  fearing  their  re- 
treat would  be  cut  off,  they  broke  and  flei,  and 
the  battle  of  Champion  Hill  was  won.  Pursuit 
was  kept  up  till  after  dark,  when  the  tired  troopa 
were  halted. 

Grant  conducted  this  battle  in  person,  and 
fought  it  with  only  fifteen  thousand  men.  It  is 
easy  to  see,  therefore,  what  the  result  would  have 
been,  had  the  other  fifteen  thousand  under  Mc- 
Clernand came  up  in  time,  as  he  expected. 


HILL   OF  DEATH.  181 

Grant's  loss  in  this  desperate  battle  was  nearly 
one  sixth  of  all  the  force  engaged — that  of  the 
enemy  was  about  three  thousand  killed  and 
wounded,  and  three  thousand  prisoners.  But 
what  was  of  still  more  consequence,  one  whole 
division,  composing  Pemberton's  right,  was  cut 
off  from  the  main  army  by  Grant's  pursuit,  and 
never  joined  it  again — thus  materially  lessening  the 
garrison  at  Vicksburg. 

The  hill,  for  the  possession  of  which  this  san- 
guinary struggle  had  taken  place,  presented  a 
frightful  appearance.  Nearly  five  thousand  men 
had  fallen  on  the  narrow  spot,  and  pools  of  blood 
stood  in  the  trampled  and  muddy  road,  while 
mangled  corpses  strewed  the  summit  and  sides. 
Dead  and  dying  horses,  and  broken  artillery  car- 
riages, and  abandoned  arms,  helped  to  swell  the 
horrors  of  the  scene.  Friend  and  foe  were  heaped 
together  in  one  "red  burial  blent"  It  was  a 
ghastly  spectacle,  even  to  the  soldiers,  and  they 
named  it  the  "  Hill  of  Death:9 

Grant,  with  his  staff,  pushed  on  with  the  pursu- 
ing column,  and  actually  got  ahead  of  it  in  the  dark- 
ness, and  had  to  retrace  his  steps  till  he  reached  it 
A  house  stood  near  the  camp,  which  Pember- 
ton  had  used  for  a  field  hospital  during  the  day, 
and  was  now  literally  crowded  with  the  dead  and 
dying.  No  tents  or  wagons  had  yet  come  up,  and 
Grant,  with  his  boy  by  his  side,  stretched  himself 


182  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

on  the  porch,  and  endeavored  to  snatch  a  little  re- 
pose amid  the  groans  of  the  sufferers,  who  lay 
bleeding  and  dying  within.  That  night  he  re- 
ceived HallecFs  despatch  of  the  llth  of  May, 
ordering  him  to  return  and  cooperate  with  Banks ; 
but  the  campaign  that  seemed  so  daring  had  been 
won.  "  The  subordinate  was  indeed  retracing  his 
steps,  but  with  victorious  banners ;  no  danger  now 
of  rebuke;  no  more  countermands,  no  more 
recalls."  Grant  had  moved  so  rapidly  that  John- 
ston was  now  hopelessly  cut  off  from  Pemberton. 
On  the  very  day  of  the  battle,  the  rebel  com- 
mander was  resting  his  troops,  after  performing 
the  prodigious  march,  the  day  before,  of  ten  miles. 
While  he  was  thus  halting,  Sherman  was  pressing 
forward  at  the  urgent  order  of  Grant,  and  after 
mid-day  made  twenty  miles. 

Starting  a  column  in  pursuit  the  next  morn- 
ing, before  it  was  fairly  light,  Grant  came  up  in 
about  six  miles  with  the  enemy,  strongly  posted 
on  both  sides  of  the  Big  Black  river.  On  the  side 
nearest  him  they  were  encircled  by  a  bayou,  with 
its  extremities  touching  the  river  above  and  below 
their  position,  while  on  the  opposite  side  arose  a 
bluff  black  with  batteries.  McClernand  had 
scarcely  opened  with  his  artillery,  when  the  gal- 
lant Osterhaus  was  wounded.  In  the  mean  time, 
Gen.  Lawler  had  crept  around  to  the  right,  and 
then  charged  over  the  open  ground  to  the  bayou. 


A   STRUGGLE   FOB  LITE.  183 

Finding  a  spot  wide  enough  for  four  men  to  pass 
abreast,  where  the  brushwood  had  not  been  piled 
up,  the  men,  flinging  their  blankets  and  haver- 
sacks on  the  ground,  plunged  into  the  water,  and 
struggling  across  amid  the  raining  bullets,  suddenly 
appeared  hi  the  enemy's  rear.  Panic-stricken  at 
this  unexpected  apparition,  the  rebels,  abandon- 
ing their  guns,  fled  for  the  bridge.  The  troops  on 
the  farther  side  of  the  river,  seeing  the  fugitives 
rushing  for  the  crossing,  seized  with  the  same 
panic,  set  fire  to  the  bridge  and  fled  in  wild  terror 
inland.  Not  half  of  their  comrades  had  succeeded 
in  crossing,  when  the  bridge  was  wrapt  in  flames, 
effectually  barring  all  passage.  A  part  had  at 
the  outset  refused  to  fly,  and  surrendered  where 
they  stood.  The  remaining  part,  now  finding 
themselves  cut  off,  while  the  pursuers  were  close 
behind,  plunged  into  the  stream,  with  the  bullets 
raining  around  them.  Officers  and  men  were 
mingled  in  the  wild  struggle  for  life,  many  of 
whom  sank  to  rise  no  more.  Eighteen  cannon 
and  over  seventeen  hundred  prisoners  fell  into 
Grant's  hands  in  this  short  conflict. 

Pemberton  now  retreated  behind  his  works  at 
Vicksburg. 

Only  one  pontoon  train  had  as  yet  reached 
Grant,  and  this  he  had  previously  given  to  Sher- 
man, to  enable  him  to  cross  the  Black  Kiver 
farther  up,  so  as  to  flank,  if  necessary,  the  enemy 


184  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

in  his  position  on  the  river.  He  desired  earnestly 
to  follow  up  the  demoralized  enemy,  and  enter  hia 
works  in  full  pursuit ;  but,  the  bridges  being  de- 
stroyed, and  this,  his  only  pontoon  train,  being 
with  Sherman  on  the  right,  he  was  compelled  to 
halt  till  means  of  crossing  could  be  provided. 

Sherman  was  directed,  after  crossing,  to  follow 
the  enemy  into  the  city,  if  he  found  it  practicable 
to  do  so — if  not  to  halt,  and  place  his  troops  so  as 
to  open  communication  with  him  the  moment  he 
was  over  the  river,  when  the  army,  in  three  col- 
umns, would  advance  at  once  on  the  stronghold 
of  the  enemy. 

The  engineers  immediately  went  to  work  to  ex- 
temporize floating  bridges  of  such  materials  as 
they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  Timber  left  from 
the  burnt  bridge,  cotton-gins,  and  farm-houses  in 
the  region,  were  used  for  the  purpose — one  being 
constructed  entirely  of  cotton  bales,  fastened  to- 
gether and  planked  over.  Across  these  shaking 
structures  the  troops  hurried,  and  the  onward 
march  commenced. 

Sherman  started  at  daybreak  on  the  18th,  and 
by  half-past  nine  was  between  Vicksburg  and 
Haines'  Bluff,  on  the  Yazoo,  thus  cutting  it,  and 
all  the  forts  on  that  river,  from  the  former  place, 
and  causing  their  hasty  evacuation  by  the  gar- 
risons, that  were  compelled  to  leave  their  heavy 
guns  behind  them. 


A  SUCCESSFUL  CAMPAIGN.         185 

Grant  was  with  Sherman  when  his  column 
struck  the  Walnut  hills.  As  they  rode  together 
up  the  farthest  height,  where  it  looks  down  on 
the  Yazoo  river,  and  stood  upon  the  very  bluff 
from  which  Sherman  had  been  repulsed  six 
months  before,  the  two  soldiers  gazed  for  a  mo- 
ment on  the  long-wished-for  goal  of  the  campaign, 
— the  high,  dry  ground  on  the  north  of  Vicks- 
burg,  and  the  base  for  their  supplies.  Sherman 
at  last  turned  abruptly  round,  and  exclaimed  to 
Grant :  "  4  Until  this  moment,  I  never  thought 
your  expedition  a  success.  I  never  could  see  the 
end  clearly,  until  now.  But  this  is  a  campaign ; 
this  is  a  success,  if  we  never  take  the  town.'  The 
other,  as  usual,  smoked  his  cigar,  and  made  no 
reply.  The  enthusiastic  subordinate  had  seen  the 
dangers  of  this  venturesome  campaign  so  vividly, 
that  his  vision  was  dimmed  for  beholding  success, 
until  it  lay  revealed  on  the  banks  of  the  Yazoo  ; 
but  then,  with  the  magnanimity  of  a  noble  nature, 
he  rejoiced  in  the  victories  whose  laurels  he  could 
not  claim."  * 

McPherson  commanding  the  centre,  and  Mc- 
Clernand  the  left,  had  moved  simultaneously, 
and  by  the  19th  of  May,  the  three  army  corps 
were  in  position,  extending  from  the  Mississippi 
below,  to  the  Yazoo  above  Vicksburg,  thus  com- 
pletely investing  the  place. 

*  Col.  Badeau. 


186  LIFE   OP  GRAM1. 

After  long  months  of  toiling  and  waiting- 
after  repeated  failures,  till  the  enemy  laughed  in 
derision  at  Grant's  futile  obstinacy,  he  had  at  last, 
by  one  of  the  most  brilliant  military  movements 
on  record,  succeeded  in  flinging  his  strong  arms 
around  the  Gibraltar  of  the  Mississippi.  From  the 
perseverance  he  had  shown  from  the  outset,  from 
the  tireless  energy  with  which  he  had  worked 
undeviatingly  towards  that  single  point ;  from  the 
tremendous  blows  he  had  dealt  the  foe,  as  he  bore 
swiftly  down  upon  it,  he  had  astonished  his  own 
army,  and  paralyzed  that  of  his  adversary. 

With  his  base  of  supplies  now  firmly  established 
at  Chickasaw  landing,  at  the  foot  of  those  fatal 
bluffs,  Grant  at  once  began  the  siege  of  Yicksburg. 

It  was  just  twenty  days  since  the  campaign  be- 
gan. In  that  time,  Grant  had  marched  more 
than  two  hundred  miles,  beaten  two  armies  in  five 
several  battles,  captured  twenty-seven  heavy  can- 
non and  sixty-one  pieces  of  field  artillery,  taken 
six  thousand  five  hundred  prisoners,  and  killed 
and  wounded  at  least  six  thousand  rebels  more. 
He  had  forced  the  evacuation  of  Grand  Gulf, 
seized  the  capital  of  the  State,  destroyed  the  rail- 
roads at  Jackson  for  a  distance  of  more  than 
thirty  miles,  and  invested  the  principal  rebel 
stronghold  on  the  Mississippi  river.  Separating 
forces  twice  as  numerous  as  his  own,  he  had  beat- 
en first,  at  Port  Gibson,  a  portion  of  Pemberton's 


REVIEW   OF   CAMPAIGN.  187 

army ;  then,  at  Raymond  and  Jackson,  the 
troops  under  Johnston's  immediate  command  ; 
and  again,  at  Champion  Hill  and  the  Big  Black 
river,  the  whole  force  that  Pemberton  dared  take 
outside  the  works  at  Vicksburg.  Starting  with- 
out teams,  and  with  an  average  of  two  days'  ra- 
tions in  haversacks,  he  had  picked  up  wagons  in 
the  country,  and  subsisted  principally  on  forage 
and  rations  that  he  found  on  the  road.  Only  five 
days1  rations  had  been  issued  in  twenty  days,  yet 
neither  suffering  nor  complaint  was  witnessed  in 
the  command.  His  losses  were  six  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  killed,  three  thousand  four  hundred 
and  seven  wounded,  and  two  hundred  and  thirty 
missing — in  all,  four  thousand  three  hundred  and 
thirty-five.  This  is  the  brief,  graphic  summing  up 
of  this  extraordinary  campaign,  by  his  military 
biographer. 

As  we  remarked  in  a  former  work,  this  cam- 
paign, in  its  general  features,  resembled  the 
famous  Italian  one  of  the  young  Napoleon. 
There  was  the  same  grand  design  to  cut  up  the 
enemy  in  detail,  before  he  could  concentrate  his 
overwhelming  forces — the  same  rapidity  of  move- 
ment and  cheerful  endurance  of  privations  by  the 
troops,  the  same  terrible  blows  falling  fast  and 
rapid  as  successive  thunderbolts  from  heaven, 
rending  and  paralyzing  the  foe.  And  as  from  the 
high  ridge  he  looked  down  on  the  frowning  works. 


188  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

with  his  gallant  army  resting  at  their  base,  he 
could  address  his  soldiers  in  almost  the  language 
of  that  incomparable  leader.  "  Soldiers,  in  a  fort- 
night  you  have  gained  six  victories,  taken  twenty- 
one  pairs  of  colors,  fifty-five  pieces  of  cannon, 
several  fortresses,  and  conquered  the  richest  part 
of  Piedmont ;  you  have  made  fifteen  thousand 
prisoners,  and  killed  or  wounded  more  than  ten 
thousand  men.  Destitute  of  every  thing,  you 
have  supplied  all  your  wants,  *  *  *  *  the  per- 
verse men  who  laughed  at  your  distress,  and  re- 
joiced in  thought  at  the  triumph  of  your  enemies, 
are  confounded  and  trembling." 


CHAPTER  XL 

ASSAULT   OF   VICKSBURG. 

Description  of  the  Enemy's  Works — First  Assault — Bombardment 
of  the  Oity  by  Porter — Second  Assault— Terrific  Scene — Hero- 
ism of  the  Troops— Gallant  Deed  of  Joseph  Griffith— The  Chi- 
cago Battery — Mistake  of  McOlernand — Grant  deceived  by  it, 
and  orders  the  Assault  renewed — Its  Failure— Our  Loss — 
Grant's  Reasons  for  making  the  Assault — Grant  resolves  on  a 
regular  siege — Pemberton  asks  for  a  Suspension'of  Hostilities 
— Burial  of  the  dead. 

VICKSBURG  stands  on  a  bluff  that  rises  between 
two  and  three  hundred  feet  above  the  Mississippi, 
the  sides  inland  sloping  and  seamed  into  deep 
ravines  and  gullies. 

On  the  south  side,  the  country  was  not  so 
broken,  and  here  the  artificial  defences  were 
stronger.  Sheltered  behind  such  formidable  in 
trenchments,  on  which  were  mounted  two  hun- 
dred cannon,  and  behind  which  were  massed 
thirty  thousand  men,  Pemberton  felt  himself  se- 
cure, unless  he  was  starved  out. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  formidable  aspect  of 
these  works,  Grant,  the  very  day  after  he  had 
completed  the  investment  of  the  place,  attempted 
to  carry  them  by  general  assault  along  the  rebel 
line.  At  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  19th, 


190  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

three  vollies  of  artillery  from  all  the  guns  which 
he  had  been  able  to  get  into  position,  was  the  sig- 
nal to  advance.  The  army  surged  up  against  the 
strong  defences,  only  to  be  forced  back  at  all  points. 

Grant  now  determined  to  give  his  overtasked 
army  rest  for  a  few  days,  while  he  perfected  his 
communications  with  his  supplies,  and  got  his 
guns  into  position.  In  the  mean  time,  he  request- 
ed Porter  to  open  a  bombardment  of  the  city  with 
his  mortar  fleet,  so  as  to  distract  the  enemy's  at- 
tention from  him.  He  did  so,  and  the  huge  shells 
fell  with  such  destructive  force  in  the  streets,  that 
the  inhabitants  fled  to  the  cellars  to  hide  them- 
selves. 

Every  thing  being  finally  completed,  Grant  de- 
termined, on  the  22d,  to  make  another  and  more 
determined  attempt  to  carry  the  works  by  storm. 
Having  given  explicit  instructions  to  the  corps 
commanders,  he  sent  word  to  Admiral  Porter,  on 
the  21st,  that  he  should  assault  the  city  at  ten 
o'clock  the  next  day,  and  requested  him  to  throw 
shells  from  his  mortars  into  it  during  the  night, 
and  the  next  morning  open  with  all  his  gunboats 
upon  it,  and  keep  up  the  firing  till  half-past  ten 
Porter  opened  the  drama  with  his  mortars,  and 
all  night  long  the  murky  heavens  were  crossed 
arid  recrossed  with  the  tracks  of  the  blazing  shells, 
that  kept  dropping  with  a  continuous  thunder- 
sound  into  the  devoted  city.  At  three  o'clock  ID 


THE   ASSAULT.  191 

the  morning,  Grant  opened  with  all  his  batteries, 
and  Porter  with  all  his  guns,  and  from  river  and 
shore  thunder  answered  thunder  in  prolonged  and 
deafening  peals,  till  the  earth  shook  with  the  re- 
verberations, and  the  heavens  were  blotted  out  by 
the  sulphurous  clouds  that  rolled  upward  above 
the  terror-stricken  town.  As  the  day  dawned, 
the  sharpshooters  picked  off  nearly  every  rebel 
gunner  that  dared  to  show  his  head,  so  that  but 
feeble  response  was  made  to  the  cannonading,  that 
made  every  thing  tremble.  Hoping,  by  throwing 
his  army  in  a  simultaneous  charge  on  the  long 
line  of  the  rebel  works,  he  could  make  a  lodg- 
ment at  some  point,  Grant  had  all  the  corps  com- 
manders set  their  watches  by  his  own  timepiece, 
so  that  the  onset  might  be  like  the  breaking  of 
one  mighty  wave.  He  himself  took  a  command- 
ing position  near  the  centre,  where  he  could  watch 
the  progress  of  the  columns.  At  the  precise  mo- 
ment fixed  upon,  the  bugles  sounded,  and  the 
storming  parties  started  forward  on  a  run. 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  any  definite  idea  of 
this  terrific  assault,  covering  as  it  did  so  large  a 
space.  For  miles  the  storming  columns  dashed 
on  the  hostile  works,  through  a  desolating  fire  of 
grape  and  canister,  and  pressing  up  the  slope, 
attempted  to  carry  them.  But  a  double  rank  of 
soldiers  lay  behind  each  ridge  of  earth,  and  mowed 
them  down  with  incessant  vollies  of  musketry. 


192  LIFE   OF    GRANT. 

This,  together  with  the  tangled  brushwood,  and 
deep  and  tortuous  ravines,  rapidly  broke  up  the 
formations,  so  that  even  brigades  moved  forward 
only  in  detachments,  and  hence  the  onset  lost  all 
its  weight.  If  an  outer-work  was  carried,  it  was 
found  to  be  commanded  by  an  interior  one,  that 
rendered  its  occupation  impossible.  Deeds  of 
unparalled  bravery  were  performed,  flags  here 
and  there  were  planted  on  the  counterscarps,  and 
men  that  could  not  make  headway  against  the 
fiery  sleet,  lay  down  in  the  ditches,  where  hand- 
grenades  were  rolled  down  upon  them.  In  one 
instance,  a  part  of  the  Twenty-second  Iowa  suc- 
ceeded in  crossing  the  ditch  and  parapet  of  a  rebel 
outwork ;  but,  not  receiving  the  support  of  the 
rest  of  the  column,  could  not  push  farther,  nor 
drive  the  enemy  from  the  main  work  immediately 
in  rear.  A  hand-to-hand  fight  here  ensued,  last- 
ing several  minutes;  hand-grenades  also  were 
thrown  by  the  rebels  in  rear,  while  the  national 
troops  still  commanded  the  outer  parapet.  Every 
man  in  the  party  but  one,  was  shot  down.  Ser- 
geant Joseph  Griffith,  of  the  Twenty-second  Iowa, 
fell  at  the  same  time  with  his  comrades,  stunned, 
but  not  seriously  hurt.  On  his  recovery,  he  found 
a  rebel  lieutenant  and  sixteen  men  lying  in  the 
outwork,  still  unwounded,  though  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  both  friend  and  foe.  He  rose,  and  bade 
them  follow  him  out  of  the  place,  too  hot  for  any 


PERSONAL    GALLANTRY.  193 

man  to  stay  in  arid  live.  The  rebels  obeyed,  and 
calling  to  the  troops  outside  to  cease  their  firing, 
Griffith  brought  his  prisoners  over  the  parapet, 
under  a  storm  of  rebel  shot  that  killed  four  of 
those  so  willing  to  surrender. 

He  was  not  yet  twenty  years  old,  and  Grant 
promoted  him  to  a  first-lieutenancy  the  next  day, 
for  his  gallantry.  Afterward,  he  was  sent  to 
West  Point,  "where  he  was  known  as  'Grant's 
cadet.'" 

In  another  part  of  the  field,  General  A.  J. 
Smith  was  ordered  by  McClernand  to  get  two 
guns  up  to  the  very  ditch  of  one  of  the  rebel 
works,  and  he  called  on  five  or  six  batteries  suc- 
cessively, but  the  captains  all  protested  that  it 
was  impossible  to  drag  guns  by  hand  down  one 
slope,  and  up  another,  under  fire.  Smith,  how- 
ever, exclaimed,  "  I  know  a  battery  that  will  go 
to  h — 1,  if  you  order  it  there !  "  So  he  sent  for 
Capt.  White,  of  the  Chicago  Mercantile  Battery, 
and  told  him  what  he  wanted.  White  replied, 
"  Yes,  sir,  I  will  take  my  guns  there."  And  his 
men  actually  dragged  the  pieces  over  the  rough 
ground,  by  hand,  carrying  the  ammunition  in 
their  haversacks.  One  gun  was  stuck  on  the  way, 
but  the  other  was  hauled  up  so  near  the  rebel 
works,  that  it  was  difficult  to  elevate  it  sufficiently 
to  be  of  use ;  finally,  however,  White  succeeded 
in  firing  into  the  embrasure,  dismounting  a  gun. 


194  UFE   OF  GRANT. 

The  gun  was  then  dragged  off  down  the  ravine, 
and,  after  nightfall,  hauled  away;  but  the  am- 
munition being  heavy,  was  left  on  the  field. 

But  the  gallantry  of  individuals,  the  desperate 
determination  of  storming  parties,  and  the  heavy 
onset  of  devoted  columns,  were  all  of  no  avail, 
and  hour  after  hour  wore  on  in  the  fruitless  strug- 
gle. The  dead  and  wounded  spotted  the  crimson 
slopes,  or  crowded  the  ditches  into  which  they 
had  pushed,  only  to  fall.  The  sun  was  hot,  and 
the  wounded  that  lay  bleeding  under  its  burning 
rays,  panted  and  cried  for  water.  By  noon  it 
was  evident  that  the  attempt  was  a  failure,  and 
Grant  was  about  to  order  the  withdrawal  of  all 
the  troops,  when  he  received  a  despatch  from  Mc- 
Clernand,  stating  that  he  had  gained  the  enemy's 
works,  and,  if  he  could  receive  reinforcements, 
and  a  vigorous  push  be  made  along  the  whole 
line  at  the  same  time,  the  place  could  be  carried. 
Grant  doubted  it,  and  rode  over  to  Sherman  with 
the  despatch.  Soon  another  came  to  the  same 
purport,  and  they  kept  coming,  till  by  three 
o'clock  Grant  had  received  four,  and  he  therefore 
reluctantly  gave  orders  for  the  assault  to  be  re- 
newed. It  was  made,  but  the  only  result  was  to 
swell  the  number  of  the  dead  and  wounded.  Me- 
Clernand  was  mistaken,  as  Grant  thought  he  was, 
for  he  was  confident,  from  his  commanding  posi- 


REASONS    OF    FAILURE.  195 

tion,  that  he  could  have  discovered  any  such  sue 
cess  as  the  former  assured  him  was  achieved. 

Three  thousand  men  were  killed  or  wounded 
in  this  desperate  but  fruitless  assault.  The  pro- 
priety of  it  has  been  much  doubted.  The  place 
was  not  like  a  walled  town,  in  the  defences  of 
which  breaches  had  been  made ;  or  where,  on  the 
open  ground,  men  could  be  massed  in  solid  col- 
umns, and  by  mere  weight  and  reckless  sacrifice 
of  life,  make  their  way — but  miles  of  irregular 
earthworks  stretched  across  the  country,  that 
could  in  no  place  be  approached  by  a  large  body 
of  troops  well  massed  together.  So  that,  although 
thirty  thousand  men  advanced  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, there  was  no  real,  heavy  onset  any  where. 
It  was  desultory  fighting  along  the  whole  extend- 
ed line;  besides,  the  works  were  intact.  The 
tremendous  but  short  cannonading  of  the  morn- 
ing, had  made  no  impression  on  them,  while  an 
army  of  thirty  thousand  men,  instead  of  a  small 
garrison,  defended  them. 

Gen.  Grant  gave  several  reasons  for  making 
this  assault,  the  chief  of  which  were,  that  Johnston 
was  being  daily  reinforced,  and  in  a  few  days 
would  be  able  to  fall  on  his  rear ;  that  the  posses- 
sion of  Vicksburg  would  have  enabled  him  to 
turn  upon  him  and  drive  him  from  the  State ; 
that  its  immediate  capture  would  have  prevented 
the  necessity  of  calling  for  large  reinforcements, 


196  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

that  were  needed  elsewhere ;  and,  finally,  that  the 
troops  were  impatient  to  possess  Vicksburg,  and 
would  not  have  worked  in  the  trenches  with  the 
same  zeal,  not  believing  it  necessary,  as  they  did 
after  their  failure  to  carry  the  works  by  storm. 

There  was  great  force  in  all,  or  nearly  all,  these 
reasons,  provided  there  was  a  fair  chance  of  suc- 
cess— mdeed,j}robable  success  was  reason  enough 
of  itself,  without  any  other.  But  the  fact  that 
after  the  most  determined  gallantry  and  devotion 
on  the  part  of  officers  and  men,  not  the  least  im- 
pression was  made  on  the  formidable  works,  and 
that  amid  all  the  chances  to  which  every  battle  is 
liable,  there  came  not  one  gleam  of  encourage- 
ment from  first  to  last,  shows  that  a  victory  was 
scarcely  possible.  There  is,  however,  one  reason 
which  Grant  does  not  give,  which,  we  think,  had 
great  Aveight  with  him — that  the  government  and 
people  would  not  have  been  satisfied  without  his 
making  the  attempt.  The  spade  had  fallen  into 
contempt  ever  since  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  and 
after  the  successful  assault  of  Fort  Donelson,  was 
doomed,  apparently,  to  perpetual  disgrace,  and 
nothing  would  satisfy  the  country  but  "  to  move 
immediately  on  the  enemy's  works."  Besides,  he 
knew  what  clamors  were  raised  against  him  for  his 
slow  progress  above  Vicksburg,  and  how  nearly 
he  came  being  removed  from  command  for  it.  His 
fate  had  turned  on  the  President's  saying,  "  I 


A    SIEGE   INEVITABLE.  197 

think  ITl  try  him  a  little  longer."  Pour  months 
had  already  passed,  and  how  could  he  expect  the 
public  patience  to  hold  out,  perhaps  two  months 
more,  unless  it  was  demonstrated  practically  that 
it  must.  In  a  country  like  ours,  where  popular 
feeling  has  to  be  so  much  consulted  by  the  gov- 
ernment, and  where  politics  meddles  so  disas- 
trously in  all  war  movements,  it  is  often  necessary 
to  make  even  useless  sacrifices,  to  prevent  mis- 
chief. Grant  was  aware  of  this,  and  the  fact 
doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  his  attempt  to 
carry  Vicksburg  by  storm.  The  failure  settled 
the  question,  and  the  people,  though  restive,  were 
compelled  to  submit  again  to  the  old  story,  week 
after  week,  "  nothing  new  from  Vicksburg." 

Having  settled  down  to  the  unpleasant  conclu- 
sion that  the  stronghold  could  be  taken  only  by 
the  slow  process  of  a  regular  seige,  Grant  set 
about  it  at  once,  with  all  the  vigor  and  determi- 
nation of  one  who  meant  to  push  it  to  the  speed- 
iest conclusion.  Sherman  on  the  right,  McPher- 
son  in  the  centre,  and  McClernand  on  the  south, 
vied  with  each  other  in  pushing  forward  saps,  and 
covered- ways,  etc.,  towards  the  rebel  works.  But 
first,  however,  the  dead  had  to  be  removed,  that 
in  the  broiling  sun  lay  festering  where  they  had 
fallen.  These,  with  the  decaying  carcasses  of  ani- 
mals that  had  been  driven  out  of  Vicksburg  for 
want  of  forage,  and  shot  by  our  soldiers,  filled  the 


198  LIFE  0*  GEANT. 

air  with  an  insufferable  stench,  which  threatened 
to  breed  a  pestilence  in  the  crowded  city.  Pem- 
berton  therefore  asked  for  a  suspension  of  hostili- 
ties till  these  could  be  removed.  This  was  grant- 
ed, and  for  several  hours,  officers  and  men  of  the 
hostile  armies  met,  on  the  most  friendly  terms, 
outside  of  the  trenches. 


CHAPTER  XH. 

THE  SIEGE. 

Perilous  Position  of  the  Army — "Want  of  competent  Engineers- 
Labor  of  Grant — Silence  of  the  Enemy — Wooden  Mortars — 
Progress  of  the  Siege — Famine  in  the  City — Distress  of  the  In- 
habitants— They  hide  in  Caves — Explosion  of  a  Mine — Despe- 
rate Fighting— The  "Death  Hole"— Day  fixed  for  the  final 
Assault — Pemberton  sees  his  Condition  to  be  hopeless. 

GKANT  now  perfected  his  means  of  support,  and 
sent  North  for  reinforcements.  He  still  was  be- 
tween two  armies,  and  knew  the  moment  that 
Johnston  could  assemble  a  force  sufficiently  large, 
he  would  attempt  to  raise  the  siege.  Hence  he 
was  compelled  to  erect  works  in  his  rear,  similar 
to  those  which  the  enemy  had  constructed  in  front. 
Detachments,  in  the  mean  time,  were  sent  out  to 
destroy  railroads  and  bridges  back  of  him,  as  far 
east  as  they  could  well  penetrate,  while  Porter 
was  requested  to  land  marines  and  sailors  to  hold 
Haines1  Bluff  until  troops  could  be  got  on ;  for 
Grant  had  no  doubt  that  the  first  attempt  of 
the  enemy  would  be  to  take  this  commanding  posi- 
tion. It  was  also  additionally  fortified,  so  that  at 
length  a  comparatively  small  garrison  could  hold 
it  against  a  large  force. 

Grant,  in  the  position  he  now  occupied  between 


200  LITE   OF   GRANT. 

two  armies,  had  to  be  argils-eyed,  and  show  *» 
sleepless  vigilance.  In  the  meantime,  the  be- 
siegers labored  under  manv  embarrassments.  The 
army  was  not  supplied  with  siege  guns,  nor  any  of 
the  appliances  for  conducting  siege  operations. 
Besides,  there  were  but  a  few  skilful  engineer  offi- 
cers in  the  army.  Being  mostly  volunteers,  toey 
were  totally  ignorant  of  the  mode  of  procedure  in 
approaching  elaborate  fortifications.  Many  of  the 
materials  used,  also,  had  to  be  extemporized  Dn 
the  spot.  All  this  increased  sevenfold  the  labors 
of  Grant,  for  it  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  super- 
intend every  thing.  Details  which  ordinarily  are 
left  solely  to  subordinate  officers,  he  was  compell- 
ed to  attend  to  in  person. 

But  still  the  work  went  on,  and  approaches  and 
covered  ways,  parallels,  saps,  and  mines,  and 
trenches,  were  pushed  forward  on  every  side.  In 
the  meantime,  guns  were  planted,  and  parapets 
lined  with  sharpshooters,  to  keep  down  the  rebel 
fire,  which  otherwise  would  impede  the  workmen. 

Slowly  but  steadily  the  army  dug  its  way  up 
the  slope — the  total  length  of  all  the  trenches 
reaching,  in  the  end,  the  enormous  distance  of 
twelve  miles.  The  enemy  made  but  feeble  at- 
tempts to  obstruct  the  progress  of  the  work,  part- 
ly for  want  of  ammunition,  and  partly  because 
the  moment  a  gunner  showed  his  head  above  the 
parapets  it  became  a  target  for  a  dozen  rifles. 


STEADY   PROGRESS.  201 

This  comparative  quiet  on  the  part  of  the  besieged 
greatly  facilitated  operations.  There  being  no 
mortars  for  throwing  shells  over  the  hostile  para- 
pets, wooden  ones  were  constructed  out  of  hollow 
logs,  firmly  bound  with  iron  hoops,  which  did 
good  service. 

By  the  last  of  June,  Grant  had  two  hundred 
and  twenty  guns  in  position,  but  amid  them  all 
there  was  but  one  battery  of  heavy  pieces,  that 
on  the  right — which  had  been  landed  from  the 
gunboats,  and  was  officered  by  the  navy.  The 
rebels  countermined  at  some  points,  though  with- 
out energy  or  skill ;  but  for  the  most  part  they 
lay  silent  behind  their  works.  This  apathy  was, 
doubtless,  partly  owing  to  the  belief  that  before 
Grant's  operations  could  be  completed,  Johnston 
would  be  thundering  in  his  rear,  compelling  him 
to  abandon  them.  An  occasional  sally  was  made, 
but  none  of  those  desperate  rushes  which  so  often 
in  a  single  night  destroy  the  labor  of  days  ;  and 
Grant  kept  creeping  steadily  nearer,  preparatory 
to  his  final  spring.  The  most  important  advances 
were  made  along  the  graveyard  and  Jackson 
roads  by  trenches,  and  through  the  ravines  by 
covered  ways.  Protected  by  these,  Grant  was  able 
to  plant  two  entire  divisions  within  two  hundred 
yards  of  the  rebel  works.  (He  had  begun  his  ap- 
proaches at  the  distance  of  about  six  hundred 
yards.) 

9* 


202  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

In  the  meantime,  food  getting  scarce  in  Vicks 
burg,  the  garrison  was  put  on  short  rations,  and 
Pemberton  sent  word  to  Johnston  of  his  con- 
dition, saying  that  he  could  not  hold  out  much 
longer.  The  anaconda,  in  the  popular  phraseology 
of  the  day,  was  tightening  his  folds  day  by  day, 
around  the  doomed  city.  Flour  at  last  got  to  be 
a  thousand  dollars  a  barrel,  Confederate  money ; 
meal  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  bushel,  rum  a 
hundred  dollars  a  gallon ;  while  mule-meat  was 
sold  at  a  dollar  a  pound.  The  half-starved 
inhabitants,  in  order  to  escape  the  shells  and 
missiles  of  destruction  that  were  constantly  hurled 
from  Grant's  batteries  into  the  town,  took  refuge 
in  caves  and  holes  which  they  had  dug  in  the 
earth.  Gaunt  famine  stalked  along  the  deserted 
streets,  and  haggard  faces  glared  out  of  holes  in  the 
ground,  while  gaping  walls  and  tottering  chim- 
neys leaning  over  the  wide-spread  rum,  added 
increased  mournfulness  to  the  scene.  The  name- 
less dread,  the  sleepless  terror  that  brooded  over 
the  spot,  were  enhanced  by  the  almost  unbroken 
silence  that  rested  on  the  ramparts.  Scarcely  a 
gun  responded  to  the  ceaseless  thunder  of  Grant's 
batteries,  and  to  the  beholder,  this  strange  silence 
seemed  like  the  stillness  of  despair. 

It  was  plain  that  this  state  of  things  could  not 
endure  much  longer,  and  mutinous  murmurings 
among  the  troops  were  kept  from  breaking  forth 


EXPLOSION   OF   A    MINE.  205 

into  open  rebellion,  only  by  the  declaration  to-day, 
that  Johnston's  army  was  marching  to  their  relief, 
and  to-morrow  by  the  promise  that  rafts  and  boats 
should  be  made  out  of  the  timber  of  the  houses, 
on  which  they  would  be  floated  over  to  the  west- 
ern bank,  and  thus  escape  the  pains  of  surrender. 

A  few  days  before  the  long-deferred  crisis  came, 
a  mine  was  exploded  under  one  of  the  enemy's 
works.  The  heads  of  the  saps  had  reached  the 
hostile  lines  at  several  points,  and  at  one  on 
the  Jackson  road,  the  mine  was  carried  in  for 
thirty-five  feet,  when  three  branch  mines  were  run 
out,  so  as  to  make  the  explosion  more  extensive 
in  its  effects.  Five  hundred  pounds  of  powder 
were  placed  in  each  of  the  branch  mines,  and 
seven  hundred  in  the  centre  one,  making  in  all 
a  ton  of  powder. 

The  25th  of  June  was  the  day  fixed  for  explod- 
ing it,  and  although  the  enemy  had  countermined, 
he  had  effected  nothing,  and  at  the  appointed 
time  it  was  fired.  "  The  fuse  train  being  ignited,  it 
went  fizzing  and  popping  through  the  zigzag  line  of 
trenches,  until  for  a  moment  it  vanished.  Its  dis- 
appearance was  quickly  succeeded  by  the  explo- 
sion, and  the  mine  was  sprung.  So  terrible  aspec- 
tacle  is  seldom  witnessed.  Dust,  dirt,  smoke, 
gabions,  stockades,  timber,  gun-carriages,  logs — in 
fact,  every  thing  connected  with  the  fc  rt — rose  hun- 
dreds of  feet  into  the  air,  as  if  vomited  forth  from  a 


204  LITE   OF   GRANT. 

volcano ;"  while  the  surrounding  country  shook  as 
if  in  the  grasp  of  an  earthquake.  A  few  rebel 
soldiers  were  seen  to  rise  bodily  into  the  air,  two 
of  whom  came  down  alive  within  our  lines.  But 
most  of  the  troops  had  been  withdrawn,  apparent- 
ly in  expectation  of  the  explosion. 

At  the  moment  it  took  place,  to  add  greater 
terror  to  the  scene,  the  artillery  opened  all  along 
the  lines. 

The  crater  made  was  large  enough  to  hold  two 
regiments,  and  a  column  of  troops  which  had 
stood  in  readiness  to  take  advantage  of  the  explo- 
sion, leaped  at  once  into  it,  and  a  fierce,  desperate 
hand  to  hand  struggle  took  place  in  the  opening. 
The  enemy,  however,  soon  retired  to  an  interior 
line,  higher  up  the  slope,  and  which  looked  down 
on  our  daring  troops  below.  They  at  once  began 
to  hurl  down  hand-grenades,  and  roll  down 
lighted  boxes  of  ammunition,  which  burst  with  ter- 
rible effect  among  the  crowded  ranks.  McPher- 
son's  men  threw  hand-grenades  back,  but  being 
compelled  to  cast  them  up  hill,  they  labored  at 
fatal  disadvantage.  They,  however,  fought  and 
fell  where  they  stood,  all  the  afternoon.  When 
darkness  wrapped  the  wild  ruin,  detachments 
from  Leggett's  brigade  relieved  each  other  in 
holding  the  crater,  and  the  gloom  was  incessantly 
streaked  with  the  fuses  of  the  grenades  or  volleys  of 
musketry.  So  deadly  was  the  effect  of  the  mis* 


THE  DEATH-HOLE.  205 

siles  of  the  rebels,  pitched  from  their  elevated 
position,  that  the  soldiers  called  the  crater  "the 
death-hole." 

But  although  death  held  high  carnival  in  that 
smoking  chasm,  all  that  horrible  ni^ht  our  troops 
grimly  held  it,  and  at  morning  began  a  covered 
way,  from  which  other  mines  could  be  run. 

Grant,  the  moment  he  found  the  troops  in  pos- 
session of  the  crater,  determined  to  hold  it  at  all 
hazards,  and  gave  his  orders  to  that  effect  along 
the  lines.  To  Orel  he  wrote  : 

"  McPherson  occupies  the  crater  made  by  the 
explosion.  He  will  have  guns  in  battery  there  by 
morning.  He  has  been  hard  at  work  running 
rifle-pits  right,  and  thinks  he  will  hold  all  gained 
Keep  Smith's  division  sleeping  under  arms  to- 
night, ready  for  an  emergency.  Their  services 
may  be  required,  particularly  about  daylight 
There  should  be  the  greatest  vigilance  along  the 
whole  line." 

Another  mine  was  sprung  on  the  1st  day  of 
July,  opening  another  huge  abyss  under  a  rebel 
work. 

From  this  time  our  mines  were  run  in  every 
direction,  to  open  up  a  path  over  the  demolished 
works,  for  the  assaulting  columns.  They  at 
length  brought  our  troops  so  near  the  hostile  lines, 
that  the  workmen  on  opposite  sides  could  con- 
verse. Grant  was  now  so  well  up,  that  he  knew 


206  LIFE   OF   GRANT, 

but  a  little  more  demolition  of  the  obstacles  before 
him  was  needed  to  make  a  determined  assault 
successful.  He  was  the  more  eager  to  hasten 
the  decisive  moment,  for  he  had  intercepted  des- 
patches from  Johnston,  informing  Pemberton  that 
he  was  on  the  way  to  relieve  him — while  there 
were  indications  that  General  Taylor,  in  Louisi- 
ana, designed  to  move  up  on  the  west  shore  of 
the  river.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  make  the 
final  assault  on  the  6th  of  July. 

Pemberton  saw  with  alarm  the  coming  storm. 
The  despatches  of  Johnston  could  not  reach  him, 
while  he  beheld  the  relentless  line  of  Grant  con- 
tracting closer  and  closer  around  him  with  each 
revolving  day.  The  gunboats  were  thundering 
against  him  from  the  river,  new  batteries  were 
springing  up  in  his  very  face,  mines  were  being 
loaded  beneath  his  feet,  the  garrison  was  starving 
and  dying  from  miasma  and  exhaustion,  the  hos- 
pitals were  crowded  with  the  suffering,  men 
and  women  in  utter  despair  and  want  clamoring 
for  relief,  and  a  terrible  assault  close  at  hand, — how 
then  could  he  hold  out  longer?  No  troops  ever 
fought  more  gallantly  or  suffered  more  patiently 
than  those  had  done  which  he  commanded.  Why 
then  should  he,  from  mere  pride,  expose  them, 
weakened  and  worn  out  as  they  were,  to  all  the 
terrors  of  an  assault  Even  if  it  should  be  re- 
pelled, it  would  bring  no  relief  to  him.  The  only 


THE   FINAL   HOUR.  207 

result  would  be  more  mines,  increased  starva- 
tion and  death,  and  then  another  assault.  Grant's 
sap-rollers  were  already  crowning  the  heights 
he  had  deemed  impregnable,  and  the  final  hour 
could  not  be  long  delayed. 


CHAPTER  XIH. 

THE  SURRENDER. 

Propositions  of  Pemberton — Interview  between  him  and  Grant— 

Impressive  Scene — Haughty  Bearing  of  the  former — Terms 
Agreed  upon — The  Rebel  Soldiers  Stack  their  Arms — Interview 
between  Grant  and  Pemberton — Rudeness  of  the  Latter  and  bis 
Officers — Grant  enters  tbe  City  in  Triumph — Interview  between 
bim  and  Porter— Tbe  Soldiers  Celebrate  tbe  Fourth  of 
July — Pemberton's  Reasons  for  Surrendering  on  tbe  Fourtb — 
Grant's  Despatch  to  tbe  Government — Parole  and  Departure 
of  the  Prisoners — Rebuke  of  Ilalleck — Correspondence  with 
Banks — The  President's  Letter — Sherman  sent  back  to  Fight 
Johnston — Summing  up  of  the  Campaign. 

IN  this  desperate  condition,  Pemberton  was 
compelled,  bitter  as  it  was,  to  confess  that  the 
place  must  be  surrendered.  As  if  he  wished  to 
shut  out  the  full  extent  of  the  disaster,  from  which 
there  was  no  escape,  he,  on  the  1st  of  July,  sub- 
mitted the  following  paper  to  his  four  division 
generals,  Stevenson,  Forney,  Smith,  and  Bowen : 
"  Unless  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  is  raised,  or  sup- 
plies are  thrown  in,  it  will  become  necessary,  very 
shortly,  to  evacuate  the  place.  I  see  no  prospect 
of  the  former,  and  there  are  many  great,  if  not  in- 
superable, obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  latter  You 
are,  therefore,  requested  to  inform  me,  with  as  lit- 


SURRENDER    PROPOSED.  209 

tie  delay  as  possible,  as  to  the  condition  of  your 
troops,  and  their  ability  to  make  the  marches  and 
undergo  the  fatigue  necessary  to  accomplish  a 
successful  evacuation." 

All  agreed  that  an  attempt  at  evacuation  was 
useless,  while  two  unhesitatingly  advised  a  sur- 
render. Pemberton,  therefore,  on  the  3d  of 
July,  addressed  the  following  note  to  Grant : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  propose  to  you  an  armis- 
tice of  —  hours,  with  a  view  to  arranging  terms 
for  the  capitulation  of  Vicksburg.  To  this  end,  if 
agreeable  to  you,  I  will  appoint  three  commis- 
sioners, to  meet  a  like  number  to  be  named  by 
yourself,  at  such  place  and  hour  as  you  may  find 
convenient  I  make  this  proposition  to  save  the 
further  effusion  of  blood,  which  must  otherwise 
be  shed  to  a  frightful  extent,  feeling  myself  fully 
able  to  maintain  my  position  for  a  yet  indefinite 
period.  This  communication  will  be  handed  you, 
under  a  flag  of  truce,  by  Major-General  John  S. 
Bowen." 

About  ten  o'clock  he  hoisted  a  flag  of  truce,  and 
sent  Bowen,  with  one  of  his  staff,  to  Grant  with 
the  proposition.  The  bearer  expressed  a  desire  for 
an  interview  with  Gen.  Grant,  but  the  latter 
wished  to  see  no  subordinate  officer,  and  refused 
to  meet  him.  Bowen  then  said,  that  he  thought 
it  would  be  well  for  the  two  commanding  generals 
to  have  an  interview.  To  this  Grant  consented, 


210  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

saying  that,  if  Pemberton  so  desired,  he  would 
meet  him  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  mid- 
way between  the  lines  in  front  of  McPherson's  po- 
sition. At  the  same  time  he  sent  the  following 
answer  to  his  note  :  "  Your  note  of  this  date  is 
just  received,  proposing  an  armistice  of  several 
hours  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  terms  of  capit- 
ulation, through  commissioners  to  be  appointed, 
etc.  The  effusion  of  blood  you  propose  stopping 
by  this  course,  can  be  ended  at  any  time  you  may 
choose,  by  an  unconditional  surrender  of  the  city 
and  garrison.  Men  who  have  shown  so  much 
endurance  and  courage  as  those  now  in  Vicksburg, 
will  always  challenge  the  respect  of  an  adversary, 
and,  I  can  assure  you,  will  be  treated  with  all  the 
respect  due  them  as  prisoners  of  war.  I  do  no 
favor  the  proposition  of  appointing  commissioners 
to  arrange  terms  of  capitulation,  because  I  have 
no  other  terms  than  those  indicated  above." 

At  three  o'clock  one  gun  was  fired,  and  imme 
diately  answered  by  one  from  the  enemy,  the  sig- 
nal agreed  upon,  if  Pemberton  desired  the  inter- 
view. In  a  few  minutes  the  latter  rode  out  of  his 
works,  accompanied  by  Gen.  Bowen  and  CoL 
Montgomery,  while  Grant,  in  the  other  direction, 
rode  through  his  trenches,  toward  a  grassy  slope 
that  had  not  been  trod  by  either  army.  The  un- 
wonted spectacle  created  the  most  intense  excite- 
ment in  both  armies,  and  the  frowning  works  on 


THE   INTERVIEW.  211 

either  side  became  black  with  troops,  gazing  intent- 
ly off  on  the  space  where  the  two  commanders  were 
slowly  approaching  each  other.  The  clouds  set- 
tled low  and  dark  above  the  landscape,  as  if  sym- 
bolical of  the  fate  that  hung  over  Vicksburg. 

Just  before  meeting  they  dismounted,  and  ad- 
vancing on  foot,  shook  hands,  addressing  each 
other  courteously.  Pemberton  then  inquired  of 
Grant  what  terms  of  capitulation  would  be  allow- 
ed him.  The  latter  replied,  those  that  he  had 
stated  in  his  letter  of  the  morning.  At  this,  Pein- 
berton  drew  himself  up  haughtily,  and  replied: 
"  If  this  were  all,  the  conference  might  terminate, 
and  hostilities  be  resumed  immediately."  u  Very 
well,"  coolly  replied  Grant,  and  turned  away. 

The  interview  seemed  ended;  when  General 
Bowen,  with  less  pride  and  more  judgment  than 
his  commander,  proposed  that  two  officers  from 
each  party  should  withdraw  and  talk  over  the  mat- 
ter. Grant  said  that  he  had  no  objection  ;  and  the 
two  generals,  leaving  them  to  consult,  walked  up 
and  down  in  open  view,  conversing,  Grant,  as 
usual,  serenely  smoking  his  cigar. 

The  day  was  sultry,  and  the  interview  took  place 
under  a  large  solitary  oak-tree,  that  stood  in  the 
open  space.  In  a  short  time  Grant  and  Pember- 
ton returned  to  this  tree,  to  hear  the  result  of  the 
deliberations.  The  proposition  of  General  Boweri 
was,  that  the  garrison  should  march  out  of  Vicks- 


212  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

burg  with  their  muskets  and  field-guns,  leaving 
the  heavy  artillery  behind  them.  This,  Grant  at 
once  rejected.  The  two  now  entered  into  a  lengthy 
discussion,  in  which  Pemberton  pressed  hard  for 
terms  that  would  break,  somewhat,  the  humilia- 
tion of  his  downfall.  Grant,  personally,  felt  no 
disinclination  to  this,  for,  devoid  of  all  mere  pride 
of  conquest,  and  averse,  from  kindness  of  heart,  to 
the  infliction  of  needless  pain,  he  would  naturally 
prefer  to  spare  the  feelings  of  a  humbled  foe,  But 
his  duty  forbade  it.  ISTo  agreement  could  be  had 
on  such  a  proposition,  and,  after  an  hour's  dura- 
tion, the  interview  closed,  and  each  returned  to 
his  lines  with  the  understanding  that  Grant,  after 
further  consideration,  should,  by  ten  o'clock,  send 
his  ultimatum. 

The  latter  had  no  doubt  what  this  should  be. 
Still,  willing  to  yield  any  thing  that  he  could  with 
propriety,  he  called  a  council  of  his  officers  and 
submitted  the  question  to  them.  They  almost 
unanimously  agreed  on  terms,  but  Grant  would 
not  accept  them,  and  he  concluded  to  act,  as  he 
had  done  in  all  his  campaigns  and  battles  thus  far, 
on  his  own  judgment.  He  therefore  sent  the  fol- 
lowing letter: 

HEADQUARTERS,  DEPARTMENT  OF  TENNESSEE,  J 
NEAR  YICKSBURG,  July  3,  1863.     $ 

Lieuten  ant-General  J.  C.  PEMBERTON,  commanding  Con- 
federate forces,  Yicksbnrg,  Miss. : 
GENERAL  :  In  conformity  with  the  agreement  of  this 


THE   SURRENDER.  213 

afternoon,  I  will  submit  the  following  proposition  for  the 
surrender  of  the  city  of  Vicksburg,  public  stores, 


On  your  accepting  the  terms  proposed,  I  will  march  in 
one  division,  as  a  guard,  and  take  possession  at  eight 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning.  As  soon  as  paroles  can  be 
made  out  and  signed  by  the  officers  and  men,  you  will 
be  allowed  to  march  out  of  our  lines,  the  officers  taking 
with  them  their  regimental  clothing,  and  staff,  field,  and 
cavalry  officers  one  horse  each.  The  rank  and  file  will 
be  allowed  all  their  clothing,  but  no  other  property. 

If  these  conditions  are  accepted,  any  amount  of  ra- 
tions you  may  deem  necessary  can  be  taken  from  the 
stores  you  now  have,  and  also  the  necessary  cooking 
utensils  for  preparing  them ;  thirty  wagons,  also,  count- 
ing two  two-horse  or  mule  teams  as  one.  You  will  be 
allowed  to  transport  such  articles  as  cannot  be  carried 
along.  The  same  conditions  will  be  allowed  to  all  sick 
and  wounded  officers  and  privates,  as  fast  as  they  be- 
come able  to  travel.  The  paroles  for  these  latter  must 
be  signed,  however,  whilst  officers  are  present,  authorized 
to  sign  the  roll  of  prisoners. 

I  am,  General,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  ser- 
vant, U.  S.  GBAirr,  Major-General. 


On  the  reception  of  this,  Pemberton  called  a 
council  of  war,  and  submitted  it  to  them.  All  but 
one  advised  him  to  accept  the  conditions  offered. 
He  concluded  to  do  so,  and  late  at  night  sent 
the  following  answer :  "  I  have  the  honor  to  ac- 
knowledge the  receipt  of  your  communication  of 
this  date,  proposing  terms  of  capitulation  for  this 
garrison  and  post.  In  the  main,  your  terms  are 
accepted ;  but  in  justice  both  to  the  honor  and 
spirit  of  my  troops,  manifested  in  the  defence  of 
Vicksburg,  I  have  to  submit  the  following  amend- 


214  LIFE  OF   GRANT. 

ments,  which,  if  acceded  to  by  you,  will  perfect  the 
agreement  between  us.  At  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  to- 
morrow, I  propose  to  evacuate  the  works  in  and 
around  Vicksburg,  and  to  surrender  the  city  and 
garrison  under  my  command,  by  marching  out 
with  my  colors  and  arms,  stacking  them  in  front 
of  my  present  lines,  after  which  you  will  take  pos- 
session. Officers  to  retain  their  side-arms  and 
personal  property,  and  the  rights  and  property  of 
citizens  to  be  respected.1" 

This  reached  Grant  at  midnight,  and  he  imme- 
diately replied : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
communication  of  3d  July.  The  amendment  proposed 
by  you  cannot  be  acceded  to  in  full.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary to  furnish  every  officer  and  man  with  a  parole  signed 
by  himself,  which,  with  the  completion  of  the  roll  of 
prisoners,  will  necessarily  take  some  time.  Again,  I  can 
make  no  stipulations  .with  regard  to  the  treatment  of 
citizens  and  their  private  property.  While  I  do  not 
propose  to  cause  them  any  undue  annoyance  or  loss,  I 
cannot  consent  to  leave  myself  under  any  restraint  by 
stipulations.  The  property  which  officers  will  be  allowed 
to  take  with  them  will  be  as  stated  in  my  proposition 
of  last  evening :  that  is,  officers  will  be  allowed  their 
private  baggage  and  side-arms,  and  mounted  officers  one 
horse  each.  If  you  mean  by  your  proposition  for  each 
brigade  to  march  to  the  front  of  the  lines  now  occupied 
by  it,  and  stack  arms  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  then  re- 
turn to  the  inside  and  remain  as  prisoners  until  properly 
paroled,  I  will  make  no  objections  to  it.  Should  no 
modification  be  made  of  your  acceptance  of  my  terms 
by  nine  o'clock  A.  M.,  I  shall  regard  them  as  having 
been  rejected,  and  act  accordingly.  Should  these  terms 


CLOSING   SCENES.  215 

be  accepted,  white  flags  shall  be  displayed  along  your 
lines,  to  prevent  such  of  my  troops  as  may   not   have 
been  notified,  from  firing  on  your  men. 
I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT,   Major-General  U.S.A. 

By  a  singular  coincidence,  the  next  morning 
was  the  Fourth  of  July,  our  great  anniversary  day, 
and  at  ten  o'clock  the  garrison  marched  out  by 
regiments,  and  stacked  their  arms  on  the  grassy 
slope  in  front  of  the  works  they  had  defended  so 
long  and  gallantly,  hanging  their  colors  upon  the 
centre.  With  that  downcast  look  always  so  sad 
in  a  brave  soldier's  face,  they  laid  off  their  knap- 
sacks, belts,  cartridge-boxes  and  cap-pouches,  and 
thus  shorn  of  their  arms  and  accoutrements,  and 
leaving  their  colors  behind  them,  slowly  wheeled 
back  into  their  works.  Not  a  word  had  been 
spoken,  save  the  few  words  of  command  ne- 
cessary from  the  officers  in  charge,  and  these 
were  uttered  in  a  low,  subdued  tone,  as  one  speaks 
at  a  funeral.  The  spectacle  would  have  been 
mournful  if  the  humbled  foe  had  been  an  invader ; 
but  it  was  doubly  so  when  it  was  remembered  that 
they  were  citizens  of  a  common  country,  brethren 
of  the  same  family,  and  the  very  soil  on  which 
they  stacked  their  arms  was  their  own  birthright. 

The  painful  ceremony  lasted  over  an  hour,  and 
when  it  was  over,  the  rebel  and  Federal  officers 
mounted  in  haste  and  swept  away  towards  the  city. 


216  LIFE   OP  GRANT. 

Thirty-one  thousand  six  hundred  men,  on  thia 
eventful  morning,  surrendered  themselves  prisoners 
of  war,  of  whom  fifteen  were  generals. 

Pemberton,  at  this  time,  was  at  Forney's  head- 
quarters, a  stone  house,  built  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  city,  with  wide  verandahs,  and  almost  hid 
among  the  tropical  trees.  Seated  hi  a  damask 
cushioned  rocking-chair,  he  sat  with  his  head  bent 
as  if  lost  in  sad  reflections,  while  pride  and  mor- 
tification seemed  struggling  for  the  mastery  in  his 
swarthy  face.  Tall,  with  black  eyes  and  hair,  and 
a  full  flowing  beard,  he  was  a  conspicuous  object 
on  the  verandah,  which  was  filled  with  officers. 
It  was  a  hot  day,  and  the  doors  and  windows 
were  all  open  to  let  in  a  little  air,  through  which 
also  stole  the  triumphant  strains  of  the  distant 
regimental  bands.  Grant  with  his  staff  trotted 
leisurely  towards  this  house,  and  dismounting, 
stepped  on  to  the  piazza,  and  advanced  towards 
the  rebel  general  All  looked  up  as  he  entered, 
and  could  scarce  restrain  their  surprise,  when  in- 
stead of  a  tall  and  commanding  form,  clad  in  the 
rich  uniform  befitting  so  grand  an  occasion,  they 
saw  before  them  a  man  of  small  stature,  thick- 
set, and  round  shouldered,  dressed  in  a  plain  suit 
of  blue  flannel,  and  with  nothing  to  distinguish 
his  rank  but  two  stars  on  his  shoulders.  Pember- 
ton received  his  salutations  coldly,  and  had  not 
the  civility  to  rise  and  offer  him  a  chair.  His 


RTJDE   TREATMENT.  217 

officers  were  all  seated  on  the  piazza,  but  accept- 
ing their  commander's  conduct  as  the  rule  of 
politeness,  not  one  of  them  offered  Grant  a  seat. 
Not  even  the  swords  at  their  side,  which  he  in 
his  generosity  allowed  them  to  retain,  could 
prompt  them  to  common  civility.  Among  those 
officers  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  there  was  not 
many  who  were  ashamed  of  this  want  of  courtesy, 
and  persisted  in  it  only  because  the  sullen  de- 
meanor and  discourteous  tone  of  their  chief  made 
them  feel  that  any  other  course  would  be  displeas- 
ing to  him. 

Thus  for  five  minutes  the  conqueror  stood  con- 
versing with  his  prisoner  seated  in  his  richly- 
cushioned  rocking-chair.  This  shameful  spectacle 
was  at  length  more  than  the  gentlemanly  feelings 
of  one  of  the  officers  present  could  endure,  and  he 
rose  and  offered  Grant  a  seat.  The  latter,  however, 
occupied  it  but  a  few  minutes,  when  feeling  very 
thirsty  from  his  hot  and  dusty  ride,  he  asked  for 
a  drink  of  water.  Not  one  offered  to  get  it  or 
ordered  a  servant  to  do  so  ;  instead,  he  was  cav- 
alierly told  that  he  would  find  some  inside  of  the 
house.  Passing  within,  he  groped  around,  and 
at  last  came  across  a  negro,  who  brought  him  a 
glass.  Grant  then  returned  to  the  piazza,  and 
Ending  his  seat  had  been  taken  in  his  absence, 
again  stood  and  conversed  for  nearly  a  half  an 
hour  with  his  rude  captive.  Notwithstanding  his 
10 


218  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

incivility,  Pemberton  did  not  hesitate  to  request 
Grant  to  supply  his  troops  with  rations,  to  which 
the  latter  assented,  and  inquired  how  many  were 
needed.  "  Thirty-two  thousand,"  was  the  reply, 
w^hich  was  a  surprise  to  Grant,  who  had  all  the 
while  labored  under  the  impression  that  the  garri- 
son did  not  reach  much  over  half  that  number. 
In  the  meantime,  Logan's  division,  to  which 

~          o  / 

had  been  assigned  the  honor  of  first  entering  the 
city,  because  it  had  pushed  its  approaches  nearest 
to  the  rebel  works,  came  marching  along,  the  bands 
playing  exulting  strains.  Grant  bidding  his  surly 
host  good  morning,  mounted  his  horse,  and  put- 
ting himself  at  the  head  of  the  division,  marched 
into  the  city,  while  the  pallid  inhabitants  stole  out 
of  their  caves  to  gaze  on  the  strange  spectacle. 
The  tattered  banners  that  had  been  borne  over 
many  a  fierce  battle-field,  stooped  and  rose  proud- 
ly along  the  streets,  and  at  last  were  carried  in 
triumph  to  the  top  of  the  Court  House,  where 
their  appearance  was  greeted  with  cheers.  Grant 
then  passed  on  down  to  the  wharf  to  visit  Ad- 
miral Porter,  and  exchange  congratulations  with 
him  on  their  joint  victory.  The  gallant  Admiral 
in  his  flag-ship,  followed  by  the  whole  fleet, 
covered  with  flags,  and  the  guns  firing  a  feu  de 
joie  that  made  the  welkin  ring,  passed  down  until 
he  came  in  front  of  the  town,  when  he  rounded 
to  and  swept  up  to  the  levee.  As  Grant  and  his 


INTERVIEW   WITH    PORTER.  219 

officers  stepped  on  board,  from  ship  and  shore 
went  up  thundering  hurrahs — flags  dipped  in 
graceful  salutations  to  the  hero,  while  the  heavy 
guns  roared  out  their  wild  acclaim. 

The  meeting  between  him  and  the  Admiral  was 
of  the  most  cordial  kind,  and  never  did  Porter's 
deck  witness  a  gayer  or  more  gladsome  sight 
than  it  presented  at  that  moment,  crowded  with 
the  gallant  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  ming 
ling  their  warm  congratulations.  After  months 
of  unexampled  toil  against  adverse  fate,  and 
from  many  a  fierce  fight,  in  which  they  had 
been  together,  it  was  glorious  at  last  to  see  the 
national  colors  flying  from  those  lofty  bluffs. 

The  interview  was  long  and  pleasant,  but  just 
before  dark  Grant  again  returned  to  the  shore,  and 
mounting  his  horse,  rode  back  to  his  old  camp  in 
the  field,  while  the  soldiers  made  the  nightly 
heavens  above  Vicksburg  red  with  fire-works,  in 
commemoration  of  the  Fourth  of  July.  It  had 
been  a  glorious  Fourth  to  the  national  troops,  and 
it  was  thought  strange  that  Pemberton  should 
have  allowed  the  capitulation  to  take  place  on  a 
day  that  would  make  the  victors  feel  their  triumph 
so  much  more  keenly.  In  his  report  he  gives  the 
following  reason  for  it : 

"If  it  should  be  asked  why  the  4th  of  July 
was  selected  as  the  day  for  surrender  ?  the  answer 
is  obvious.  I  believed  that  upon  that  day  I 


220  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

should  obtain  better  terms.  Well  aware  of  the 
vanity  of  our  foes,  I  knew  they  would  attach  vast 
importance  to  the  entrance,  on  the  4th  of  July, 
into  the  stronghold  of  the  great  river,  and  that,  to 
gratify  their  national  vanity,  they  would  yield 
then  what  could  not  be  extorted  from  them  at  any 
other  time." 

This  evinced  a  considerable  shrewdness  on  his 
part,  and  no  doubt  most  of  the  officers  would  have 
granted  easier  terms  on  this  day  than  any  other. 

That  night  Grant  sat  down  in  his  quiet  quar- 
ters, and  while  the  distant  heavens  were  bright 
with  rockets,  wrote  the  following  despatch  to  the 
Government : 

"The  enemy  surrendered  this  morning.  The 
only  terms  allowed  is  their  parole  as  prisoners  of 
war.  This  I  regard  as  a  great  advantage  to  us, 
at  this  moment.  It  saves,  probably,  several  days 
in  the  capture,  and  leaves  troops  and  transports 
ready  for  immediate  service."  That  is  all  he  has 
to  say  respecting  one  of  the  greatest  victories  of 
modern  times,  not  only  in  the  number  of  prisoners 
taken,  the  amount  of  war  material  captured,  but 
in  the  importance  of  the  position  obtained,  with 
reference  to  the  final  issue  of  the  contest.  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  unpretending  and  commonplace. 
Caesar,  after  a  great  victory,  could  say,  in  drama 
tic  conciseness,  "Veni,  vidi,  vici" — Commodore 
Peny,  in  similar  circumstances,  in  laconic  but 


SIMPLICITY   AND   SHREWDNESS   COMBINED.      221 

triumphant  language,  "  We  have  met  the  enemy, 
and  they  are  ours,"  while  Grant  announces  a  vic- 
tory greater  than  either  with  apparently  as  little 
feeling  or  excitement  as  he  would  the  fact  that  he 
had  made  for  the  government  a  tolerably  fair  pur- 
chase of  a  drove  of  army -mules.  This  simplicity 
never  deserts  him.  Like  his  imperturbable  seren- 
ity, it  remains  the  same  under  all  circumstances. 

The  rank  and  file  of  the  rebel  army  exhibited 
no  such  feelings  as  disgraced  their  commander, 
but  mingled,  in  the  most  familiar  manner,  with 
the  Union  soldiers,  and  could  be  seen  walking  arm 
in  arm  along  the  streets,  chatting  familiarly  as  old 
acquaintances. 

Seven  hundred  of  the  prisoners  refused  to  be 
paroled,  preferring  to  remain  as  prisoners.  Even 
if  the  relentless  conscription  respected  their  parole, 
they  had  no  desire  to  serve  again,  after  exchange, 
in  the  rebel  army.  Pemberton  requested  Grant  to 
compel  them  to  accept  their  parole ;  but  the  latter 
declined  to  interfere  in  the  matter.  He  then  re- 
quested that  a  portion  of  his  troops  be  allowed  to 
take  arms  with  them  in  order  to  prevent  the  rest 
fivm  deserting  on  the  road.  This  Grant  also  de- 
clined to  do,  as  not  coining  within  the  line  of  his 
duty.  He  did  riot  care  to  give  the  chief  reason 
that  actuated  him  in  refusing  this  request,  viz  • 
that  lie  \\ished  the  very  thing  that  Pemberto-i  de- 
sired to  prevent. 


222  LIFE   OF   GttANT. 

It  took  a  few  days  to  complete  the  paroles,  but 
every  thing  being  at  length  arranged,  on  Saturday 
forenoon,  the  llth,  the  weaponless  army,  bereft 
of  all  its  standards,  took  up  its  mournful  march. 
Long  lines  of  national  infantry  extended  along 
each  side  of  the  road  for  some  distance  beyond  the 
intrenchments,  as  guards ;  and  between  these,  with 
bowed  heads,  the  silent  columns  slowly  denied. 
Many  had  fought  from  a  sense  of  duty  under  the 
standards  they  now  left  behind ;  from  the  eyes  of 
these  the  tears  fell  hot  and  fast ;  others  turned  to 
take  a  last  look  at  the  works  behind  which  they 
had  battled  so  long  and  well,  and  suffered  so  ter- 
ribly, while  others,  sullen  and  desponding,  march- 
ed doggedly  on.  Their  brave  conquerors,  forget- 
ting their  triumph  in  the  feeling  of  pity  for  their 
gallant  but  misguided  countrymen,  exhibited  none 
of  the  victors1  pride,  and  uttered  no  word  of  taunt  or 
boast.  In  dead  silence  they  let  them  pass,  till  the 
last  column  disappeared  around  the  winding  road, 
and  then  wheeled,  and  marched  back  to  their 
quarters. 

The  first  response  that  Grant  received  from 
"Washington,  after  this  great  victory,  was  a  rebuke 
from  Halleck  for  having  paroled  the  prisoners, 
and  ordering  him  peremptorily  not  to  carry  out 
his  agreement,  if  it  had  not  been  already  done — 
fearing,  he  said,  that  the  enemy  would  not  regard 
the  parole  as  binding.  It  is  true,  he  afterwardi 


A  STRONG   LETTER.  223 

complimented  him  highly  for  his  brilliant  strategy, 
but  that  did  not  lessen  the  painful  effect  of  this 
first  rebuke.  The  people,  however,  had  nothing 
but  plaudits  for  him.  Hoisting  of  flags,  firing  of 
cannon,  and  deafening  shouts,  followed  the  tidings 
of  his  great  victory  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land,  and  his  name  dwelt  on  every  tongue.  The 
victory  of  Gettysburg,  at  the  same  time,  swelled 
the  national  enthusiasm  to  the  highest  pitch ;  and 
the  shout  that  rose  from  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi met  that  which  swelled  up  the  Atlantic 
slope,  till  the  Alleghanies  shook  with  the  glad 
acclaim. 

Four  days  after,  Port  Hudson  fell,  thus  opening 
the  Mississippi  its  entire  length.  This  result 
Grant  had  anticipated,  when  he  refused  again  and 
again  Banks'  urgent  request  to  send  him  troops. 
Once,  in  reply  to  a  request  for  ten  thousand  men, 
he  wrote  with  an  earnestness  not  usual  with  him, 
unless  deeply  roused.  He  said :  "  Our  situation 
is,  for  the  first  time  during  the  entire  Western 
campaign,  what  it  should  be.  We  have,  after 
great  labor  and  extraordinary  risk,  secured  a  po- 
sition which  should  not  be  jeopardized  by  any  de- 
tachments whatever.  *  *  I  have  ample  means 
to  defend  my  present  position,  and  effect  the  re- 
duction of  Vicksburg  within  twenty  days,  if  the 
relation  of  affairs  which  now  obtains  remains  un- 
changed. But,  detach  ten  thousand  men  from 


224  LIFE   OF   GEANT. 

my  command,  and  I  cannot  answer  for  the  result. 
*  *  *  I  need  not  describe  the  severity  of  the 
labor  to  which  my  command  must  necessarily  be 
subjected,  hi  an  operation  of  such  magnitude  as 
that  in  which  I  am  now  engaged.  Weakened  by 
the  detachment  of  ten  thousand  men,  or  even 
half  that  number,  with  the  circumstances  entirely 
changed,  I  should  be  crippled  beyond  redemp- 
tion." 

He  had  not  spent  months  to  get  just  where  he 
wanted  to  be,  to  risk  success  by  weakening  his 
forces.  He  knew  well  that  Port  Hudson  would 
fall  of  itself  the  moment  that  Vicksburg  surren- 
dered. Banks1  sacrifice  of  life  before  the  former 
place  was  as  useless  as  the  manner  of  doing  it  was 
unwise.  Grant  was  aware  that  Banks'  request 
was  in  accordance  with  the  President's  wishes, 
and  this  fact  made  him  feel  the  more  deeply,  but 
he  resolved  that  nothing  but  a  peremptory  order 
from  headquarters  should  make  him  relax  for  a 
moment  the  iron  grasp  he  had  got  on  Vicksburg. 
After  its  surrender,  he  received  the  following 
letter  from  the  President,  acknowledging  his  mis- 
take: 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINOTON,  July  13,  1863. 
To  Major-General  GRANT  : 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL  :  I  do  not  remember  that  you  and 
I  ever  met  personally.  I  write  this  now  as  a  grateful 
acknowledgment  for  the  almost  inestimable  service  you 
have  done  the  country.  I  wish  to  say  a  word  further 


A   CAM)ID   LETTER.  225 

When  you  first  reached  the  vicinity  of  Yicksburg,  I 
thought  you  should  do  what  you  finally  did — march  the 
troops  across  the  neck,  run  the  batteries  with  the  trans- 
ports, and  thus  go  below;  and  I  never  had  any  faith, 
except  a  general  hope  that  you  knew  better  than  I,  that 
the  Yazoo  Pass  expedition,  and  the  like,  could  succeed. 
When  you  got  below  and  took  Port  Gibson,  Grand 
Gulf,  and  the  vicinity,  I  thought  you  should  go  down 
the  river  and  join  General  Banks ;  and  when  you  turned 
northward  east  of  the  Big  Black,  I  feared  it  was  a  mis- 
take. I  now  wish  to  make  a  personal  acknowledgment 
that  you  were  right  and  I  was  wrong. 

Yours,  very  truly,  A.  LINCOLN. 

Nothing  shows  the  tireless  activity  of  Grant,  and 
the  terrible  relentlessness  with  which  he  clung  to 
and  pushed  his  foe,  more  than  his  action  on  the  night 
preceding  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg.  Foresee- 
ing clearly  that  its  capitulation  was  inevitable,  he 
directed  Sherman  to  march  back  to  Jackson  and 
give  Johnston  battle,  and  drive  him  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi Central  Railroad.  He  was  not  a  man  to 
sit  down  for  a  moment  and  enjoy  victories  already 
won,  when  others  were  to  be  achieved.  It  was 
hard  for  troops  that  had  struggled  and  waited  so 
long  for  the  overthrow  of  tbe  stronghold,  not  to 
be  allowed  to  witness  its  downfall,  and  share  in 
tbe  triumph.  But  the  order  was  peremptory,  and 
the  tired  troops  started  off,  followed,  soon  as  the 
capitulation  was  signed,  by  Ord  and  Steele ;  and 
marched  back  under  a  hot  July  sun  for  fifty  miles, 
over  a  parched  and  pestilential  country — with  no 

10* 


226  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

water  but  such  as  could  be  gathered  from  swamps, 
to  quench  their  thirst. 

Rebuilding  the  bridges  they  had  previously  de- 
stroyed, the  army  pushed  on  to  Jackson,  where 
Johnston  lay  strongly  entrenched.  Holding  him 
here,  in  the  expectation  that  he  would  be  assault- 
ed, Sherman  sent  out  expeditions  in  every  direc- 
tion, destroying  railroads  and  rolling-stock  and 
fixtures,  while  at  the  same  time  he  gradually 
extended  his  lines  around  the  place,  till  both  ex- 
tremities touched  Pearl  River.  Johnston,  now 
thoroughly  alarmed  for  his  safety,  decamped  in 
the  night,  and  fled  into  the  interior,  destroying 
the  railroad  running  east  behind  him,  as  he  re- 
treated. Sherman  then  slowly  marched  back, 
having  lost  about  a  thousand  men  in  the  expedi- 
tion. 

This  finished  the  campaign  of  Vicksburg,  the 
total  result  of  which  footed  up  in  losses  to  Grant 
of  killed  and  wounded  and  missing,  eight  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  seventy-three ;  to  the 
enemy,  of  fifty-six  thousand,  besides  the  vast  de- 
struction of  material  of  war  and  public  property, 
and  the  capture  of  cannon. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Employment  of  Negro  Troops— Grant's  Views  respecting  it — 
Threatens  to  retaliate  if  they  are  abused  when  captured — 
Opposed  to  opening  Trade  with  the  South— Proposes  an  Ex- 
pedition against  Mobile — His  Application  rejected — Protects 
his  Soldiers  against  the  Extortion  of  Steamboat  Captains — Wife 
visits  him — Her  enthusiastic  Reception  in  St.  Louis — Public 
Dinner  at  Memphis — Thrown  from  his  Horse  at  New  Orleans 
and  laid  up — Long  Confinement — Ordered  to  reinforce  Rose- 
crans — Leaves  Vicksburg — Placed  over  all  the  Troops  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley — Interview  with  the  Secretary  of  War. 

GRANT'S  known  anti-abolition  principles,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  that  party  which,  in  former  years, 
,  waged  perpetual  war  on  the  South,  and  his 
democratic  tendencies,  so  far  as  he  had  any  politics 
previous  to  the  rebellion,  caused  many  to  imagine 
that  he  would  be  entirely  opposed  to  the  employ- 
ment of  negroes  as  soldiers — a  measure  recently 
determined  on  by  the  Government.  But  they 
were  mistaken.  Not  merely  as  a  subordinate 
was  he  willing  to  obey  the  behests  of  his  Govern- 
ment, but  as  a  wise  commander,  he  saw  that 
they  could  be  employed  with  great  benefit  to  the 
country — especially  in  garrisoning  places  on  the 
Mississippi,  and  thus  releasing  white  troops  to  be 
used  in  the  field.  Hence,  only  a  week  after  the 


228  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

surrender  of  Vicksburgh,  lie  told  the  Adjutant- 
General  of  the  army,  that  he  was  "  anxious  to  get 
as  many  of  those  negro  regiments  as  possible," 
which  had  been  ordered  by  the  Government.  He 
said,  "  I  am  particularly  anxious  to   organize  a 
regiment  of  heavy  artillerists  from  the  negroes,  to 
garrison  this  place,  and  shall  do  so  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble."    The  President  had  written  to  him  person- 
ally on  the  subject,  for  he  had  sanguine  expecta- 
tions    respecting    the   great   results   of   such    a 
measure — thinking,  in  fact,  that  it  alone  would 
destroy  the  Confederacy.     He  said,  "It  is  a  re- 
source, which,  if  vigorously  applied  now,  will  soon 
close  this  contest."     Grant  did  not  share  these  ex- 
travagant expectations.      He  never  was  carried 
away  by  any  mere  theory.     He  viewed  every  thing 
by  the  light  of  common  sense ;  and  although  at  the 
outset  of  the  war,  like  thousand  of  others  who 
had  never  studied  carefully  the  history  of  civil 
revolutions,  he  thought  that  a  few  battles  would 
end  it,  he  had  long  since  abandoned  that  idea. 
He  well  knew  that  many  fierce  conflicts  and  a  long 
struggle,  were  before  the  country.    Neither  did  he 
believe,  like  the   dreamers   at  Washington,  that 
emancipation    or   the    employment   of    negroes 
would  do  it.      He  looked  upon  these  all  only  as  so 
many  measures  to  help  forward  an  end   which 
could  be  reached  only  by  hard  fighting  and  deci- 
sive victories  in  the  field.     The  raising  of  a  hun 


NEGRO  TROOPS.  229 

dred  negro  regiments,  was  to  him  simply  a  hun- 
dred thousand  soldiers  added  to  the  army,  nothing 
more  nor  less.  The  Southern  commanders  were 
inclined  at  first  not  to  recognize  negroes  as  soldiers, 
especially  those  who  were  runaway  slaves,  as  under 
their  laws  they  were  required  to  turn  them  over  to 
their  former  masters. 

Grant  did  not  trouble  himself  about  the  logic 
of  the  question — a  man  wearing  the  uniform  of  a 
United  States  soldier,  and  fighting  under  its  flag, 
was  entitled  to  receive  the  treatment  due  an  Ameri- 
can soldier.  Hearing  that  this  had  not  been 
granted  to  some  prisoners  captured  at  Milliken's 
Bend,  but  on  the  contrary,  that  they  had  been  bru- 
tally hung,  he  wrote  to  General  Taylor  (son  of  Gene- 
ral Taylor,  the  former  President),  within  whose  com- 
mand the  crime  was  committed,  and  after  reciting 

'  O 

the  circumstances,  said :  "I  feel  no  inclination  to 
retaliate  for  the  offence  of  irresponsible  persons, 
but  if  it  is  the  policy  of  any  general  intrusted 
with  the  command  of  troops,  to  show  no  quarter, 
or  to  punish  with  death  prisoners  taken  in  battle, 
I  will  accept  the  issue.  It  may  be,  you  purpose 
a  different  line  of  policy  towards  black  troops,  and 
officers  commanding  them,  to  that  practised  to- 
wards white  troops.  If  so,  I  can  assure  you  that 
these  colored  troops  are  regularly  mustered  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States.  The  Govern- 
ment, and  all  the  officers  under  the  Government, 


230  LIFE  OP  GRANT. 

are  bound  to  give  the  same  protection  to  those 
troops,  that  they  do  to  any  other  troops."  No 
pompous  declamation  here — no  windy  threats, 
which  so  many  delighted  to  indulge  in,  for  the  sake 
of  the  pleasant  sound  they  would  make  when  re- 
ported in  the  newspapers ;  but  a  quiet,  calm  utter- 
ance of  his  duty,  and  a  settled  determination  to 
perform  it.  He  would  hang  a  rebel  general  with 
the  same  serenity  that  he  smoked  his  cigar,  in  the 
discharge  of  that.  General  Taylor  replied,  that 
he  would  punish  all  acts  of  inhumanity,  or  that 
were  unbecoming  a  soldier  ;  but  that  his  Govern- 
ment required  its  officers  to  turn  over  all  captured 
negroes  to  the  civil  authority,  to  be  dealt  with 
according  to  law. 

The  closing  of  the  Mississippi  had  been  a  severe 
blow  to  the  Western  States,  whose  commerce  had 
formerly  been  extensive  with  the  South ;  hence, 
soon  as  it  was  opened,  they  anxiously  desired  to 
open  trade  with  that  portion  which  had  sur- 
rendered to  our  arms.  This  was  natural — else, 
they  said,  why  expend  so  much  time  and  treasure, 
and  men,  if  it  is  to  remain  practically  as  much 
closed  to  us  as  ever.  Chase,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  being  himself  a  "Western  man,  felt  the 
pressure  of  Western  opinion,  and  urged  that  trade, 
under  certain  restrictions,  should  be  allowed  within 
districts  occupied  by  our  military  forces.  This, 
Grant  respectfully  but  steadily  opposed.  Though 


NO  TBADE  WITH  THE  SOUTH.        231 

he  said  he  held  himself  in  readiness  to  obey  any 
order  he  should  receive,  he  remonstrated  against 
the  course,  as  certain  to  inflict  serious  injury  on 
the  Union  cause.  He  declared  it  would  be  impos- 
sible, if  trade  were  once  allowed,  to  prevent  the 
rebels  from  being  supplied  with  every  thing  they 
wanted.  He  had  seen  how  the  thing  worked  in 
Kentucky,  and  he  told  the  Government  plainly, 
that  it  could  not  adopt  any  general  rule  in  regard 
to  trade  under  which  "  all  sorts  of  dishonest  men 
would  not  engage  in  it,  taking  any  oath  or  obliga- 
tion necessary  to  secure  the  privilege."  Smuggling, 
he  said,  would  be  carried  on  in  spite  of  the  greatest 
vigilance,  which  would  give  the  South,  practically, 
the  advantage  of  open  commerce.  His  wise, 
sagacious  counsels,  however,  were  not  followed, 
and  his  predictions  proved  true,  while  the  per- 
petual annoyances  to  which  it  subjected  him,  were 
almost  past  endurance.  Jews,  and  unscrupulous 
speculators  of  every  kind,  blockaded  his  headquar- 
ters, often  ruffling  that  serene  temper  which  noth- 
ing else  seemed  able  to  disturb.  Anecdotes  are 
told  of  the  summary  manner  in  which  he  some- 
times dealt  with  these  pestilent  fellows,  suggestive 
of  any  thing  but  military  formality. 

Although,  immediately  after  the  fall  of  Vicks- 
burg,  Grant  sent  off  troops  to  Banks,  and  other- 
wise weakened  his  army,  still  he  did  not  propose 
to  remain  idle.  A  large  force  could  be  assembled 


232  LITE   OP   GRANT. 

in  a  short  time,  ?md  he  thought  if  a  sudden,  vigor- 
ous blow  were  struck  at  Mobile,  it  could  be  taken. 
This  would  open  the  whole  southern  tier  of  States 
to  our  arms,  and  Grant  proposed  an  expedition 
against  it  to  Halleck.  Meeting  with  a  rebuff  he 
returned  to  it  again  in  a  few  days,  declaring  that 
if  permission  were  given  him,  he  felt  certain  of 
success.  Admiral  Porter  was  of  the  same  opinion  ; 
but  no  solicitations  could  move  Halleck.  He 
wanted  "  to  clear  out  western  Louisiana,"  &c.,  and 
the  result  of  his  grand  scheme  was,  that  instead 
of  the  capture  of  Mobile,  we  had  the  Red  River 
expedition  under  Banks,  after  cotton,  which  ended 
so  disgracefully,  and  which  come  so  near  destroy- 
ing our  fleet  on  the  Mississippi.  Halleck  was 
always  inclined  to  squander  our  forces  in  expedi- 
tions which,  even  if  successful,  were  barren  of  re- 
sults that  bore  directly  on  the  issue  of  the  struggle. 
Grant  always  believed  in  striking  vital  points  first, 
knowing  that  if  the  heart  was  once  reached,  the 
extremities  would  die  of  themselves  ;  while  Hal- 
leck wished  to  reach  the  citadel  of  life  by  slow 
approaches. 

Lincoln  coincided  with  the  General- in-Chief,  re- 
specting the  Mobile  expedition,  and  wrote  to  Grant 
so,  and  he  was  therefore  compelled  reluctantly  to 
give  it  up,  and  remain  idle  at  Vicksburg. 

Many  officers  and  soldiers,  some  of  them  on 
account  of  sickness  and  wounds,  and  others,  whose 


HIS   CARE   OF   THE   SOLDIERS.  233 

absence  from  duty  was  necessary,  obtained  short 
furloughs,  and  repaired  North.  Grant,  ever  mind- 
ful of  the  welfare  of  his  men,  issued  an  order 
forbidding  the  steamboats  that  cleared  from  Vicks- 
burg  for  Cairo,  from  charging  the  soldiers  more 
than  five  dollars,  and  the  officers  more  than  seven, 
for  their  passage.  Regardless  of  this  order,  the 
steamer  Hope  had  taken  on  board  a  large  number 
of  both — the  captain  charging  them  from  ten  to 
twenty-five  dollars  apiece.  Grant,  hearing  of  it, 
immediately  despatched  an  officer,  accompanied 
by  a  guard,  with  the  order  to  the  captain  to  refund 
at  once  all  the  money  received  by  him  as  fare, 
over  five  dollars  to  enlisted  men,  and  seven  dollars 
to  officers,  or  submit  to  imprisonment  for  disobe- 
dience, and  have  his  boat  confiscated.  The  aston- 
ished captain  looked  first  at  the  order  and  then  at 
the  guard  which  had  been  sent  down  to  enforce 
it,  and  sullenly  paid  back  the  money  which  he  had 
received  in  excess  of  the  fare  as  fixed  by  Grant. 
This  care  of  them  by  their  commander,  spread 
like  wild-fire  among  the  soldiers,  and  they  made 
the  shore  ring  with  their  hurrahs.  On  being 
informed  of  the  various  impositions  practised  on 
furloughed  soldiers  and  officers,  by  steamboat  men, 
he  became  very  indignant,  and  said,  u  I  will  teach 
them,  if  they  need  the  lesson,  that  the  men  who 
have  perilled  their  lives  to  open  the  Mississippi 


234  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

liver  for  their  benefit,  cannot  be  imposed  upon 
with  impunity." 

Grant  has  none  of  that  electric  fire,  that  mag- 
netic sympathy,  such  as  distinguished  Napoleon, 
and  made  the  meanest  soldier  proud  to  die  for  him. 
There  is  nothing  dramatic  about  him.  He  holds 
the  affections  of  his  troops  by  a  different  bond — 
by  an  attachment  that  springs  from  profound  re- 
spect for  his  ability,  forecast,  and  readiness  to 
share  all  their  toils,  privations  and  danger,  and  a 
parental  care  for  their  welfare. 

In  the  short  rest  to  which  he  was  now  doomed 
by  the  mistaken  policy  at  Washington,  his  wife 
had  time  to  visit  him.  For  weary  months,  not 
only  he,  but  his  little  son,  not  yet  old  enough  to 
do  without  his  mother's  good-night  kiss,  had  been 
either  sleeping  in  pestilential  marshes,  or  riding 
amid  the  storm  of  battle,  and  her  heart  yearned 
to  see  them,  and  the  moment  that  victory  gave 
her  free  access  to  them,  she  hastened  to  their  em- 
brace. Reaching  St.  Louis  on  her  way  down,  her 
person  was  recognized,  and  immediately  the  hotel 
at  which  she  stopped  was  thronged  by  the  excited 
populace.  Bands  of  music  struck  up  triumphant 
airs,  the  multitude  shouted  the  name  of  Grant, 
and  so  great  was  their  enthusiasm,  that  they  re- 
fused to  leave  until  she  presented  herself  on  the 
balcony.  Leaning  on  the  arm  of  Brigadier- Gen- 
eral Strong,  she  stood  a  moment  before  the  sea  of 


A   PUBLIC   DINNER.  235 

upturned  faces,  and  was  received  with  the  wildest 
demonstrations  of  delight.  General  Strong  re- 
turned thanks  in  her  behalf,  in  a  brief  speech. 

In  the  mean  time,  Halleck  had  ordered  Grant 
to  send  the  Thirteenth  Corps,  under  Ord,  to  Gen- 
eral Banks,  at  New  Orleans,  and  otherwise  assist 
him  in  his  plan  of  operations  against  Texas. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  month,  he  visited  Mem- 
phis to  look  after  affairs  in  that  portion  of  his  de- 
partment, when  the  citizens  asked  him  to  accept  the 
honors  of  a  public  dinner.  In  complying  with 
their  request,  after  thanking  them  for  the  honor 
done  him  personally,  he  said  : 

I  thank  you,  too,  in  the  name  of  the  noble  army  I 
have  the  honor  to  command.  It  is  composed  of  men 
whose  loyalty  is  proved  by  their  deeds  of  heroism  and 
their  willing  sacrifices  of  life  and  health.  They  will 
rejoice  with  me  that  the  miserable  adherents  of  the  re- 
bellion, whom  their  bayonets  have  driven  from  this  fair 
land,  are  being  replaced  by  men  who  acknowledge  hu- 
man liberty  as  the  only  true  foundation  of  human  gov- 
ernment. May  your  efforts  to  restore  your  city  to  the 
cause  of  the  Union  be  as  successful  as  have  been  theirs 
to  reclaim  it  from  the  despotic  rule  of  the  leaders  of 
the  rebellion.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  gentlemen,  your 
obedient  servant,  U.  S.  GEAJTT. 


When  the  grand  event  of  the  evening,  the  toast 
to  himself,  was  given,  the  company  were  taken 
quite  aback  by  his  declining  to  make  any  response 
—  delegating  to  one  of  his  staff  the  duty  of  re- 
turning his  thanks.  He  then  made  the  excuse, 


236  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

which  has  since  become  a  standing  one,  that  he 
was  not  accustomed  to  public  speaking.  In  this, 
he  differs  from  any  other  distinguished  military 
man  of  the  country  that  we  know  of. 

The  next  day,  he  started  for  New  Orleans,  to  see 
General  Banks,  who  was  on  the  eve  of  his  depart- 
ure for  Texas,  in  order  to  learn  his  plans,  and 
ascertain  if  he  could  be  of  any  assistance  to  him. 
While  there,  a  grand  military  review  took  place  in 
his  honor,  at  Carrollton.  "What  a  magnificent 
spectacle !  What  cheers  rent  the  air,  when  the  his- 
toric colors  of  the  old  Thirteenth  Corps  dipped 
to  the  hero  of  Vicksburg  as  he  passed  along  the 
lines,  followed  by  a  brilliant  cortege  of  captains  and 
staff  officers,  who  had  great  difficulty  in  keeping 
up  with  the  general,  as  he  dashed  along  at  a  full 
gallop  on  a  magnificent  charger  borrowed  from 
Banks."  Taking  his  place  under  an  oak,  he  re- 
viewed the  troops,  and  it  was  noticed  that,  as  they 
passed,  he  lifted  his  hat  with  a  deeper  reverence 
to  the  veteran  Thirteenth  Corps,  bearing  the  flags 
that  had  waved  in  the  storm  of  every  battle  from 
Donelson  to  Vicksburg.  But,  before  the  splen- 
did pageant  was  over,  an  accident  occurred,  that 
marred  the  enjoyment  of  the  day,  and  came  near 
inflicting  an  irreparable  loss  on  the  country. 

Though  no  man  possesses  a  firmer  seat  in  the 
saddle  than  Grant,  and  there  is  not,  probably,  a 
more  accomplished  horseman  in  the  whole  country, 


A    SERIOUS    ACCIDENT.  237 

yet  by  a  sudden,  unaccountable  movement  in  the 
animal  he  bestrode,  he  was  unhorsed  in  a  twink- 
ling, and  dashed  with  great  violence  to  the  ground. 
So  heavy  was  the  fall,  and  severe  the  injuries  he 
received,  that  he  never  rose  from  the  bed  to  which 
he  was  carried,  for  twenty  days,  and  during  all 
that  time  was  unable  to  change  his  position.  He 
could  only  lie  on  his  back,  and  in  this  state  was 
eventually  carried  on  board  of  a  boat  and  trans- 
ported to  Vicksburg.  He  remained  here  confined 
to  his  bed  until  the  25th  of  September,  when  he 
was  able  to  hobble  about  on  crutches.  Fortu- 
nately, this  long  incapacity  for  the  field  occurred 
in  the  most  favorable  time  for  the  country,  as  he 
had  nothing  to  do  except  hold  his  own  in  his  de- 
partment, and  give  orders  of  minor  importance. 
Banks  was  carrying  out  his  Texas  expedition, 
Rosecrans,  with  wavering  fortune,  was  closing  up 
his  military  career  around  Chattanooga,  while 
Burnside  of  the  Ohio  department,  was  holding  his 
own  at  Knoxville.  But  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, Halleck,  who  had  heard  that  Bragg, 
from  whose  hands  Rosecrans  had  just  wrested 
Chattanooga,  was  being  heavily  reinforced,  tele- 
graphed to  Grant  to  send  all  his  available  force  to 
that  place.  The  despatch,  however,  was  delayed 
on  the  road,  so  that  it  did  not  reach  Grant  until 
the  23d  of  the  month.  He  was  still  in  bed  at 
Vicksburg,  but  immediately  sent  orders  to 


238  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

man  to  start  one  of  his  divisions  for  Chattanooga 
as  speedily  as  possible.  He  also  stopped  a  divis- 
ion of  McPherson,  which  was  sailing  south  to 
reinforce  Steele,  and  directed  it  to  return  at  once 
to  Memphis,  where  Hurlbut  was  in  command, 
while  the  latter  was  ordered  to  send  it,  with  two 
divisions  of  his  own  and  what  other  troops  he 
could  spare,  to  the  same  point.  Grant  bent  his 
whole  energies  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  Govern- 
ment, and  placed  all  of  his  army,  except  what 
was  necessary  for  garrison  duty,  at  the  disposal  of 
Hosecrans.  The  effort,  however,  came  too  late — 
the  battle  of  Chickamauga  had  been  fought  a  few 
days  before,  and  Rosecrans,  defeated  with  heavy 
loss,  was  shut  up  in  Chattanooga,  and  in  great 
peril  of  total  destruction. 

Events  were  hurrying  Grant  forward  to  the 
high  command  he  was  destined  to  reach,  faster 
than  the  Government  proposed.  On  the  last  of 
the  month,  Halleck,  now  fully  alive  to  the  peril- 
ous state  of  things  in  the  Cumberland  department, 
telegraphed  to  Grant,  that  as  soon  as  he  was  able, 
he  wished  him  to  go  to  Nashville,  and  take  charge 
of  the  movement  of  troops,  that  Eosecrans  was  in 
such  pressing  need  o£  The  day  before,  however, 
Grant  had  telegraphed :  "I  ain  now  ready  for  the 
field,  or  any  duty  I  may  be  called  to  perform." 
He  was  ready  for  the  field,  "or  any  duty51  that 
his  country  might  require  of  him,  though  he  was 


A   MONUMENT   TO    HIM.  239 

just  out  of  bed,  and  with  difficulty  could  get 
about  on  his  crutches.  To  men  of  less  iron  will 
or  energy,  this  bodily  condition  would  have  seem- 
ed any  thing  but  readiness  for  the  battle-field. 

Two  or  three  days  after,  he  received  a  despatch 
requesting  him  if  possible  to  come  to  Cairo,  the 
nearest  point  with  which  telegraphic  communica- 
tion could  be  kept  up.  He  immediately  started 
off,  and  bade,  as  it  turned  out,  good-bye  forever  to 
Vicksburg  and  the  army  of  the  Tennessee — the 
child  of  his  own  raising,  the  sharer  of  his  adverse 
fortunes  and  his  glory,  and  which  had  become  en- 
deared to  him  by  common  toils,  and  dangers,  and 
sufferings,  and  triumphs.  But  no  defeats  or  victo- 
ries to  come  could  ever  obliterate  the  memories  that 
clustered  around  that  place,  the  capture  of  which 
was  the  culmination  of  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
campaigns  recorded  in  military  annals.  And  on 
the  spot  where  stood  the  oak  under  which  his  in- 
terview with  Pemberton  took  place,  and  which 
soon  disappeared,  root  and  branch,  as  relics  of  the 
great  event,  a  monument  was  reared,  on  which  is 
inscribed,  "  To  the  Memory  of  the  Surrender  of 
Vicksburg  by  Lieutenant-General  J.  G.  Pember- 
ton to  Major-General  U.  S.  Grant,  U.  S.  A.,  on 
the  3d  of  July,  1863." 

As  soon  as  Grant  reached  Cairo,  he  advised 
Halleck  of  his  arrival,  who  in  reply  telegraphed 
him  to  proceed  at  once  to  Louisville  with  his  staff, 


240  LIFE   OF   GRAJST, 

where  he  would  meet  an  officer  from  the  War 
Department,  "with  orders  and  instructions."  The 
same  day  he  started  by  railroad,  and  at  Indian- 
apolis met  the  Secretary  of  War  himself,  with  an 
order  which  consolidated  the  three  departments 
of  Ohio,  Cumberland,  and  his  own  into  one,  to 
be  called  the  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  placed  him  at  the  head  of  it,  with  full  power 
to  plan  his  campaigns  without  interference  from 
any  one.  The  Government  was  at  last  waking 
up  to  the  fact  that  had  been  demonstrated  so  often 
that  nothing  but  madness  ignored  it,  that  a  cabi- 
net or  any  representation  of  the  civil  government 
could  not  conduct  campaigns  in  the  field.  Mis- 
take after  mistake  had  been  made,  disaster  after 
disaster  reached,  the  blame  of  which  fell  on  the 
commanders,  but  which  impartial  history  will  put 
on  men  in  civil  authority  hi  Washington,  who 
undertook  to  manage  that  about  which  they  did 
not  understand  the  first  principles. 


CHAPTER 

CHATTANOOGA. 

Grant's  Despatch  to  Thomas — Puts  him  in  the  place  of  Rosecrans 
— Starts  for  Chattanooga— Has  to  he  carried  over  rough 
places — Gloomy  Entrance  into  Chattanooga — Positions  of  the 
two  Armies — Opening  up  the  Channel  for  Supplies — Hazen'a 
Expedition — Seizure  of  Lookout  Valley  hy  Hooker — Burnside 
threatened  at  Knoxville — Sherman  hurried  forward — Grant 
resolves  to  attack  the  Enemy — Postponement — His  Anxiety  for 
Burnside — Despatches  to  him — His  great  Anxiety. 

THE  Government  in  placing  Grant  in  supreme 
command  of  all  the  forces  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
gave  him  the  choice  of  keeping  Rosecrans  in 
command  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  or 
of  putting  Thomas  in  his  place.  He  unhesitat- 
ingly chose  the  latter.  Orders  were  at  once  sent 
on  to  Chattanooga,  announcing  his  assumption  of 
the  command  of  the  new  military  division,  and 
placing  Thomas  over  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land. 

Alarmed  at  the  rumors  that  Rosecrans  was 
about  to  evacuate  Chattanooga,  he  sent  with  the 
same  orders  the  following  one  to  Thomas  :  "  Hold 
Ctiattanooga  at  all  hazards ;  I  will  be  there  as 
soon  as  possible."  The  quick  response  from  this 
incomparable  soldier,  was,  "  I  will  hold  the  town 
11 


242  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

till  we  starve"  That  was  enough.  Grant  knew 
that  now  no  power  on  earth  could  remove  "  the 
rock  of  Chickarnauga,"  till  he  should  arrive  there. 
The  man  who,  with  his  division  alone,  single- 
handed,  could  hour  after  hour  hold  at  bay  the 
whole  rebel  host,  and  save  the  Army  of  the  Cum- 
berland from  annihilation,  could  be  trusted  to 
keep  what  human  power  could  retain. 

The  next  day  after  sending  those  orders,  Grant 
took  the  railroad  for  Chattanooga.  Reaching 
Nashville,  he  telegraphed  orders  to  Burnside,  at 
Knoxville,  to  fortify  important  points  at  once ;  to 
Admiral  Porter  at  Cairo,  to  get  a  gunboat  to 
Sherman  on  the  Tennessee,  who  was  pushing  his 
way  across  the  country ;  and  to  Chattanooga  to 
Thomas  respecting  work  to  be  done  without  de- 
lay. From  Nashville,  he  with  his  staff  took 
horses  and  struck  across  the  country.  Grant  was 
still  confined  to  his  crutches,  but  he  could  ride 
on  horseback,  and  the  party  moved  off  rapidly 
as  the  roads  would  permit.  These,  however,  were 
in  a  horrible  condition.  Poor  in  the  best  season, 
now  at  the  close  of  the  fall  they  had  been  made 
almost  impassable,  in  some  parts,  by  the  heavy 
rains  and  army  wagons.  Across  swollen  torrents 
that  came  roaring  down  the  mountain  sides — 
struggling  over  deep  gullies  and  skirting  over- 
hanging precipices — the  party  made  its  difficult 
way  along  the  wreck -bestrewed  road.  To  one  in 


A   GLOOMY   PIIOSPECT.  243 

Grant's  helpless  condition  the  difficulties  and  ob- 
stacles that  met  them  at  almost  every  step,  were 
peculiarly  annoying,  for  at  some  points  it  was 
impossible  to  ride  with  any  degree  of  safety,  and 
the  entire  party  were  compelled  to  dismount  and 
lead  their  animals  carefully  over  them.  Grant, 
of  course,  could  not  use  his  crutches  hi  these 
places,  and  his  escort  had  to  carry  him  across  in 
their  arms. 

On  the  last  day  before  reaching  Chattanooga, 
a  cold  rain  set  in,  drenching  him  and  his  escort  to 
the  skin.  Just  as  the  dark  November  night 
closed  over  the  dreary  desolate  landscape,  made 
still  more  gloomy  and  dispiriting  by  the  chilling 
rain  that  fell  without  intermission,  Grant,  wet, 
cold,  tired,  hungry,  and  bespattered  with  mud, 
rode  into  the  beleaguered  place.  Passing  through 
the  gloomy  streets  to  Thomas'  headquarters,  he 
was  helped  from  the  saddle,  and  limped  wearily 
under  the  welcome  shelter  of  a  roof. 

Never  before  did  a  general  assume  command 
under  more  depressing  circumstances. 

No  welcoming  shouts  of  the  soldiers,  no  cheer- 
ful congratulations  of  the  officers,  met  him,  but 
instead,  gloomy  silence  and  despondent  utterances 
on  every  side.  Starvation  had  dried  up  the  cur- 
rents of  life  in  the  troops,  while  from  every  height 
the  confident  enemy  looked  down  upon  them, 
waiting  for  famine  to  do  the  work  of  the  sword* 


244  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

That  was  not  a  pleasant  night  to  Grant ;  but 
after  conversing  with  Thomas  till  a  late  hour,  he 
sought  the  rest  he  so  much  needed.  Roused  by 
the  morning  gun,  the  prospect  as  he  looked  out 
upon  the  dreary  landscape  did  not  tend  to  remove 
the  sad  impressions  of  the  night  before,  for  rebel 
fortifications  overlooking  the  place,  met  his  eye 
whichever  way  it  turned. 

After  breakfast  he  mounted  and  rode  out  with 
Thomas  and  the  chief  engineer,  W.  F.  Smith,  to 
take  a  view  of  the  situation.  The  first  object 
was  to  open  up  communication  with  his  supplies, 
so  that  the  army  could  be  fed. 

Bragg  held  the  river  between  Chattanooga  and 
Bridgeport, — the  terminus  of  the  railroad  from 
Nashville, — so  that  Rosecrans  was  compelled  to 
bring  supplies  by  land,  over  the  Cumberland 
Mountains,  a  distance  of  sixty  miles.  The  roads 
had  became  almost  impassable,  by  the  fall  rains, 
and  the  horses  had  given  out,  so  that  the  few 
teams  that  arrived  often  came  in  half  empty,  for 
it  was  impossible  to  haul  them  fully  loaded  over 
the  frightful  mountain  roads ;  until  at  last  the 
troops  were  put  on  quarter  rations,  and  at  the 
time  of  Grant's  arrival  had  only  provisions 
enough  to  carry  them  through  one  battle.  The 
opening  of  a  channel,  therefore,  for  supplies  to 
reach  him,  became  the  first  necessity.  This  was 
easily  done,  if  the  river  to  Bridgeport,  several 


OPENING   COMMUNICATIONS.  245 

miles  below,  could  be  cleared  of  the  enemy.  The 
arrival  of  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  corps  from  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  just  before  Grant's  ap- 
pointment to  the  chief  command,  had  enabled 
Rosecrans  to  mature  a  plan  for  accomplishing 
this,  which  the  former  approved  of,  and  imme- 
diately proceeded  to  carry  out. 

The  Tennessee  Eiver,  which,  as  it  approaches 
Chattanooga,  is  running  southwest,  when  just 
below,  turns  abruptly  to  the  south  for  a  long  dis- 
tance, and  then  turns  back  and  flows  directly  to 
the  north,  when  it  once  more  resumes  its  old  course. 
This  great  bend  incloses  a  peninsula,  called  Moc- 
casin Point,  from  its  resemblance  to  a  moccasin, 
and  was  held  by  our  troops  ;  but  the  opposite  bank 
by  the  rebels,  as  far  down  as  Kelly's  Ferry. 
Brown's  Ferry  was  between  this  and  Chattanooga ; 
and  the  great  object  was  to  dislodge  the  enemy  so 
that  the  road  to  both  these  ferries  would  be  under 
Grant's  control.  The  communication  would  then 
be  open  to  Bridgeport,  from  which  a  railroad  ran 
to  Nashville.  The  operations  at  Kelly's  Ferry 
were  entrusted  to  Hooker,  who  had  halted  his 
corps  at  Bridgeport ;  and  those  at  Brown's  to 
Chief  Engineer  Smith.  The  latter  selected 
Hazen's  brigade  for  the  hazardous  enterprise  as- 
signed to  him. 

The  south  shore  of  the  river  was  so  thoroughly 
defended,  that  any  attempt  to  throw  a  force 


246  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

across  by  pontoon  bridges  was  impracticable.  It 
was  therefore  determined  to  float  fifty  pontoon 
boats,  with  twenty-five  men  and  one  officer  in 
each,  making  in  all  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
down  the  stream  by  night,  and  effect  a  landing  on 
the  bank,  and  hold  it  till  a  force  of  some  four 
thousand  men,  concealed  on  the  opposite  shore, 
could  be  ferried  over.  The  force  would  then  be 
sufficiently  strong  to  maintain  itself  till  a  pontoon 
bridge  could  be  laid,  over  which  reinforcements  to 
any  required  amount  could  be  sent. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th,  Hazen  went  down 
the  north  shore  to  a  point  opposite  where  the 
landing  was  to  be  effected,  and  critically  examined 
the  locality.  To  the  left  of  the  ferry-house  were 
two  hills,  which  it  was  necessary  he  should  occupy, 
on  which  there  was  a  rebel  picket  post,  and  also 
one  in  the  hollow  between  them.  Having  finished 
his  examination,  he  arranged  his  plan  of  opera- 
tions, attending  to  every  thing  personally,  as  the 
enterprise  was  to  be  a  hazardous  one.  Each  boat- 
load of  twenty-five  men  was  to  carry  two  axes, 
making  in  all  a  hundred;  and,  as  soon  as  the 
crest  of  those  hills  at  the  ferry  was  reached,  skir- 
mishers were  to  be  thrown  out,  and  the  hundred 
axes  at  once  set  to  work  felling  trees  to  make  an 
abattis.  He  also  selected  points  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  river,  where,  at  the  proper  time,  sig- 
nal fires  were  to  be  kindled,  to  guide  him  in  effect- 


HAZARDOUS   ENTEKPKISE,  247 

ing  a  landing.  The  fifty  boats,  made  of  "  rough 
boards  roughly  nailed  together,"  were  divided  into 
four  distinct  commands,  over  which  tried  and  dis- 
tinguished officers  were  placed,  who,  after  being 
fully  instructed  in  the  duties  they  were  expected 
to  perform,  were  taken  down  opposite  the  ferry ; 
and  the  points  of  landing,  and  the  position  of  the 
enemy,  etc.,  all  pointed  out  to  them.  These  in 
turn,  just  before  night,  called  together  the  leaders 
of  the  separate  squads,  and  instructed  them  in 
the  parts  they  were  expected  to  take,  and  how 
each  was  to  act  in  the  confusion  that  must,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  exist  in  the  gloom  and  dark- 
ness of  night,  when  an  attack  was  to  be  momen- 
tarily expected. 

Every  thing  at  last  being  arranged,  the  troops 
were  sent  to  their  tents  to  get  an  early  sleep.  At 
midnight  they  were  awakened  and  marched  to  the 
landing,  and  stowed  away  in  the  boats.  All  at 
length  being  loaded,  at  three  o'clock  the  silent 
little  fleet  pushed  off  into  the  stream,  and  catch- 
ing the  current,  drifted  downward  in  the  gloom. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  utmost  silence  should 
be  preserved ;  for,  if  the  enemy  got  wind  of  the 
movement  in  time,  it  would  be  frustrated.  Ha- 
zen,  therefore,  with  great  gratification,  saw  that 
the  force  of  the  current  alone,  without  the  use  of 
oars,  would  take  him  to  the  desired  point  of  land- 
ing in  time,  and  consequently  passed  the  order 


248  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

that  oars  should  be  dispensed  with — and  the  boats 
without  a  sound  floated  rapidly  down  the  river. 
After  going  three  miles,  they  came  under  the  guns 
of  the  rebel  pickets ;  but,  by  keeping  in  the  deep 
shadow  of  the  opposite  shore,  and  maintaining  a 
profound  silence,  they  were  not  discovered,  and 
the  hostile  sentinels  slumbered  on  unconscious  of 
danger,  whilst  this  first  step  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
rebel  army  was  being  taken.  There  was  no  moon, 
and  the  waters  rippling  by  gave  no  token  of  what 
was  going  on  out  on  the  dark  bosom  of  the  stream. 
The  boats  passed  undiscovered,  not  only  down  to 
opposite  the  place  of  landing,  but  the  advance 
ones  had  actually  taken  to  their  oars  and  crossed 
over,  and  were  within  ten  feet  of  the  shore  before 
any  alarm  was  given.  Seeing  several  black  masses 
rapidly  approaching  the  shore,  the  picket  on  duty 
hailed,  and  receiving  no  answer,  fired  a  volley  and 
sent  back  the  alarm.  Hazen,  now  that  secrecy 
was  at  an  end,  shouted  out  his  orders,  and  the 
boats  were  impelled  by  the  strong  oarsmen  swiftly 
to  the  shore.  So  rapid  was  the  debarkation,  and 
so  perfectly  did  each  party  perform  its  separate 
duties,  even  in  the  pitchy  darkness,  that  the  signal 
fires  were  scarcely  lighted  on  the  opposite  bank, 
before  the  entire  command  was  drawn  up  in  line 
of  battle.  The  advance  was  made  with  equal  ra- 
pidity and  exactness,  so  that  Hazen  was  in  posi- 
tion, his  skirmish  line  out,  and  the  axes  ringing 


FIRST   SUCCESS.  249 

in  the  woods,  before  the  reinforcement  of  the  ene- 
my— only  a  little  way  over  the  hill — could  arrive 
to  drive  him  back.  A  stubborn  fight  commenced ; 
but  the  boats  had  no  sooner  disgorged  their  loads, 
than  they  were  rowed  swiftly  across  the  river  to 
take  on  board  the  rest  of  the  brigade  that  stood 
waiting,  and  which  quickly  crossing,  drove  the 
enemy  back.  A  thousand  rebel  infantry,  with 
three  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  force  of  cavalry, 
were  stationed  here,  which  was  sufficiently  strong 
to  have  prevented  any  landing,  had  the  enemy 
been  prepared  for  it.  By  noon  a  pontoon  bridge 
spanned  the  Tennessee  at  this  point,  over  which 
artillery  and  troops  were  soon  thundering. 

Hooker  crossed  his  force  at  Bridgeport,  and 
marched  up  the  opposite  shore.  Passing  swiftly 
through  a  gorge  in  the  Raccoon  Mountain,  he  de- 
scended into  Lookout  Valley,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  28th,  Howard  leading  the  advance,  went 
into  camp  within  a  mile  of  Brown's  Ferry.  Geary, 
commanding  the  other  portion  of  the  troops,  went 
into  camp  about  three  miles  farther  down  the  riv- 
er. Bragg,  as  soon  as  he  was  informed  of  these 
movements,  penetrated  their  object,  and  saw,  if 
they  were  not  arrested,  the  siege  of  Chattanooga 
would  be  practically  raised.  He  therefore  hur- 
ried forward  Longstreet,  who  suddenly,  at  one 
o'clock  at  night,  fell  on  Geary,  and  the  battle  of 

Wauhatchie   began.      Howard,   aroused  by  the 
11* 


250  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

heavy  firing,  immediately  started  back  to  his  help> 
but  was  stopped  on  his  way  by  a  rebel  force  post- 
ed on  a  range  of  hills,  which  announced  its  pres- 
ence by  a  sheet  of  fire  from  its  crest.  Though 
the  slope  was  heavily  wooded,  and  the  ground 
entirely  unknown  to  officers  and  men,  he  boldly 
charged  up  them  in  the  darkness,  sweeping  them 
like  a  storm. 

Geary,  after  three  hours  of  desperate  fighting, 
repelled  the  attack  of  Longstreet.  The  mule- 
teams,  frightened  at  the  nightly  cannonade,  broke 
from  the  teamsters,  and  dashing  towards  the  ene- 
my with  their  harness  and  chain-traces  rattling 
in  the  night,  completed  the  discomfiture  ;  for 
the  astonished  rebels  mistook  them  for  a  charge 
of  cavalry,  and  fled  precipitately.  Lookout  Val- 
ley was  now  Hooker's,  and  the  river  open  to 
Bridgeport,  so  that  only  nine  miles  of  land  trans- 
portation over  good  roads  remained — the  rest  of 
the  way  the  supplies  being  brought  in  boats  ex- 
temporized by  the  soldiers. 

The  road  was  now  clear  to  Nashville,  and  Grant 
could  calmly  survey  his  position,  and  mature  his 
plans. 

Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout  Mountain  abut 
on  the  Tennessee  River,  the  former  above  and  the 
latter  below  Chattanooga,  and  run  inland  south, 
converging  towards  each  other,  hi  the  form  of  the 
letter  V.  At  the  apex  rises  the  Chattanooga 


CHATTANOOGA.  251 

Creek,  and  flows,  a  noisy  stream,  into  the  Tennes- 
see. The  space  between  is  the  Chattanooga  Val- 
ley. Here,  on  the  river,  and  on  and  among  a 
cluster  of  knobs  or  hills,  is  Chattanooga  town.  It 
lies  nearer  Lookout  than  it  does  to  Missionary 
Hidge,  and  from  the  top  of  the  former,  shells  could 
be  thrown  into  the  place.  The  problem  before 
Grant  was  simple  enough  in  statement,  but 
whether,  under  the  obstacles  that  interposed,  it 
could  be  satisfactorily  solved,  was  another  matter. 
The  enemy  must  be  driven  from  those  threatening 
heights,  that,  frowning  with  cannon,  looked  down 
on  his  camp.  This  was  clear ;  and  it  was  equally 
plain  that  it  could  be  done  in  only  one  of  two 
ways — by  a  flank  movement,  like  that  of  Hose- 
crans  when  he  drove  Bragg  out  of  Chattanooga, 
or  by  moving  straight  "  on  the  enemy's  works," 
and  overcome  all  opposition  by  sheer  hard  fight- 
ing. The  former  course,  under  the  circumstances, 
was  impracticable,  and  Grant  saw  plainly  that 
nothing  was  left  but  the  latter.  But  before  this 
could  be  attempted,  Sherman,  who  the  month  pre- 
vious had  started  with  his  force  from  Memphis, 
four  hundred  miles  distant,  must  arrive.  Halleck 
had  ordered  him  to  repair  the  railroad  as  he  ad- 
vanced, in  order  that  he  might  bring  up  his  sup- 
plies. Grant  now  directed  him  to  drop  every 
thing,  and  push  on  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
This  was  what  Sherman  wanted  to  do.  The 


252  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

moment  lie  had  heard  of  Grant's  new  appoint 
ment,  he  wrote  him  a  letter  expressing  his  delight, 
and  now,  with  increased  ardor  and  confidence, 
urged  on  his  weary  columns.  Grant  knew  that 
the  enemy  would  not  give  up  Chattanooga  with- 
out a  desperate  struggle,  for  they  fully  appreci- 
ated the  importance  of  its  possession  to  them. 
They  said:  "Food  and  raiment  are  our  needs. 
We  must  have  them.  Kentucky  and  Middle 
Tennessee  can  only  supply  them.  Better  give  up 
the  seacoast,  better  give  up  the  Southwest,  ay, 
better  to  give  up  Richmond  without  a  struggle, 
than  lose  the  golden  field,  whose  grain  and  wool 
are  our  sole  hope."" 

Bragg,  the  moment  he  saw  that  he  had  lost  his 
hold  on  the  Nashville  road,  determined  to  compen- 
sate for  it  by  driving  Burnside  out  of  Knoxville, 
nearly  a  hundred  miles  away.  Grant,  made  aware 
of  this  movement,  became  exceedingly  anxious  for 
the  arrival  of  Sherman,  through  whom  alone  he 
could  checkmate  it,  and  he  sent  another  messen- 
ger to  him  to  take  his  four  divisions  and  hurry  on 
to  Bridgeport.  In  the  meantime  he  informed 
Burnside  of  the  danger  that  threatened  him,  and 
gave  him  specific  instructions  how  to  act.  But  it 
becoming  evident  that  Longstreet  would  be  upon 
him  before  Sherman  could  arrive,  he  ordered 
Thomas  to  attack  the  enemy  on  Missionary  Ridge, 
hoping  by  this  course  to  bring  Longstreet  back 


URGENT   HASTE.  253 

He  issued  his  order  on  the  7th,  saying:  "The 
movement  should  not  be  delayed  later  than  till 
to-morrow  morning."  Knowing  the  deficiency  of 
horses  in  the  camp,  he  directed  him,  if  necessary, 
to  take  mules  from  the  wagons,  and  even  dismount 
the  officers  and  press  their  horses  into  the  service 
of  the  artillery.  He  also  telegraphed  Burnside 
of  the  intended  movement  to  save  him.  No 
doubt  the  case  was  urgent,  and  the  danger  immi- 
nent, but  subsequent  events  proved  that  had  the 
attack  then  been  made,  it  would  have  been  repelled, 
and  might  have  been  the  beginning  of  greater  dis- 
asters. Thomas,  who  had  been  on  the  ground 
longer,  and  whose  anxiety  was  tempered  with 
more  caution,  saw  this,  and  declared  that  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  move  until  the  arrival  of 
Sherman.  Destined  to  be  the  strongest  prop 
to  every  commander  he  served  under,  he  now 
saved  Grant  from  committing  a  hasty  act.  The 
latter  had  entire  confidence  in  the  commander  of 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  recalled  the 
order,  leaving  Burnside  to  oppose,  as  he  best 
could,  the  force  inarching  against  him.  He  was 

o       o 

disappointed,  and  thought  if  Thomas  had  mo\ed 
as  directed,  it  would  have  had  the  effect  to  re- 
call Longstreet  Perhaps  so;  but  other  results 
of  more  importance  mignt  have  followed.  His 
orders  were  for  Thomas  to  make  the  attack  at  the 
very  point  where  Sherman  shortly  after  made  his. 


254  LITE   OF   GRANT. 

That  Missionary  Ridge  could  not  have  been  car 
ried  without  Sherman's  troops,  is  evident  from 
the  desperate  nature  of  the  struggle  by  which  it 
was  finally  won.  Longstreet's  fifteen  thousand 
men  recalled  and  occupying  the  point  where  Sher- 
men  afterwards  made  a  lodgment  unopposed, 
would,  to  say  the  least,  have  had  a  serious  effect 
on  the  final  result.  It  is  doubtful  if  Grant  would 
have  given  this  order  but  for  the  anxiety  of  the 
Government  for  Burnside,  and  the  pressing  na- 
ture of  the  despatches  from  both  Halleck  and 
the  President,  to  see  to  it  that  he  was  not  destroy- 
ed. He  may  have  felt,  under  this  pressure,  that 
it  was  his  duty  to  make  an  attempt,  even  if  it 
failed.  But  to  say,  in  the  light  of  after  events, 
that  the  designed  movement  would  have  been 
wise,  and,  in  the  end,  successful,  is  asserting  what 
facts  do  not  sustain. 

Grant's  command  covered  a  large  territory. 
Two  armies  besides  the  one  under  his  immediate 
control,  demanded  his  most  watchful  care,  while 
the  opening  and  guarding  of  railroads,  and  bring- 
ing up  of  supplies,  were  matters  of  instant  arid 
pressing  necessity.  The  anxiety  for  Burnside, 
stimulated  as  it  was  by  constant  telegrams  from 
"Washington,  was  the  crowning  source  of  all  his 
other  anxieties.  The  critical  state  of  this  com- 
mander, at  Knoxville,  whose  defeat  would  lose  us 
East  Tennessee,  again  made  him  wish  to  give  wings 


ANXIETY  FOE  BUBNSIDE.  255 

to  Sherman's  army.  His  active  mind  ran  over  the 
whole  line  of  his  long  route,  and  suggested  every 
possible  expedient  that  might  prevent  delays,  and 
expedite  his  march.  To  Burnside,  despatch  after 
despatch  was  sent,  sometimes  giving  specific  direc- 
tions concerning  the  steps  to  take  in  case  certain 
movements  were  made  by  Longstreet.  One  strain, 
however,  ran  through  them  all.  " Don't  retreat" 
"  Hold  on  at  all  hazards,"  was  the  burden  of  his 
telegrams,  u  and  I  will  soon  make  a  movement  here 
that  will  relieve  you."  One  day  his  language  would 
be :  "  Hold  on  to  Knoxville,"  another,  "  If  Long- 
street  moves  his  whole  force  across  the  Little 
Tennessee,  cut  his  pontoons  on  the  stream,  even 
if  it  sacrifices  half  of  the  cavalry  of  the  Ohio 
army" 


CHAPTER  XVX 

BATTLE   OF    MISSIONARY   RIDGE. 

Bridges  carried  away — Anxiety  and  Restlessness  of  Grant — Recon- 
noisances  and  advance  of  Thomas — Sherman  makes  a  lodg- 
ment on  Missionary  Ridge — Hooker  carries  Lookout  Mountain — 
Battle  above  the  clouds — A  thrilling  spectacle — Night  before 
the  Battle — Sherman's  attack — Hooker's  delay — Grant's  anxie- 
ty— Assault  of  the  Mountain — Heroism  of  the  Troops — Grant 
and  Thomas — The  victory — The  pursuit — Hooker  attacks  by 
moonlight — Grant's  despatch  to  Halleck — Sherman  sent  to  re- 
lieve Bnrnside — Review  of  the  Campaign  and  Battle — Letter 
from  the  President 

ON  the  15th  of  November,  Sherman,  leaving 
his  army  toiling  forward,  reached  Chattanooga. 
The  next  day,  he  and  Grant,  and  Thomas,  rode 
out  to  examine  the  ground  to  be  occupied  by  his 
army  in  the  great  move  now  close  at  hand.  Urged 
by  Grant  to  hurry  up  his  columns,  Sherman  re- 
turned at  once  to  Bridgeport,  rowing  the  boat 
himself  a  part  of  the  way. 

The  moment  a  portion  of  his  troops  arrived, 
though  worn  out  with  their  long  march,  and  many 
of  them  barefoot,  Grant  determined  not  to  wait 
for  the  remainder,  but  to  attack  at  once,  and 
issued  his  orders  to  that  effect  to  Thomas,  at  the 
same  time  sketching  the  general  plan  of  operations. 
But  it  was  impossible  for  Sherman  to  get  his 


HIS   RESTLESSNESS.  257 

troops  in  position  in  time  for  the  battle,  which 
Grant  had  ordered  to  commence  at  daylight,  Sat- 
urday morning.  Pushed  to  the  limits  of  human 
endurance,  they  were  toiling  over  the  miry  roads, 
or  a  frail  bridge  of  boats  at  Brown's  Ferry,  and 
could  move  no  faster.  Sherman  told  Grant  so, 
and  the  latter  reluctantly,  the  second  time,  coun- 
termanded his  order.  His  usually  quiet  nature 
was  roused  into  painful  excitement  by  these  re- 
peated delays,  and  the  imminent  peril  they  caused 
to  Burnside,  until  he  could  no  longer  preserve  his 
habitual  repose,  but  broke  forth.  "  I  have  never 
felt  such  restlessness  as  I  have  at  the  fixed  and 
immovable  condition  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land" It  was  no  common  anxiety  that  could 
wring  such  an  expression  from  him. 

When  he  found  that  it  was  impossible  for  Sher- 
man to  be  up  by  the  time  he  had  appointed,  he 
fixed  the  next  Sunday  morning  for  the  attack. 
But  a  heavy  rain-storm  set  in,  deluging  the  roads ; 
while  the  bridge  at  Brown's  Ferry  broke  down, 
so  that,  though  Sherman  worked  night  and  day, 
he  could  not  be  ready  even  by  Sunday  morning. 
Chafing  under  these  protracted  disappointments, 
Grant  then  fixed  Monday  morning  for  the  attack, 
and  so  advised  Thomas.  But  as  if  to  try  his  pa- 
tience to  the  utmost,  the  rains  so  swelled  the  river, 
that  the  frail  bridges  over  the  Tennessee  were 
swept  entirely  away,  and  every  thing  brought  to 


258  LOT   OP   GBANT, 

a  complete  stand  still.  Once  more  he  was  com- 
pelled to  inform  Thomas,  that  farther  delay  was 
inevitable. 

On  the  night  of  the  22d,  a  deserter  from  Bragg'a 
army  came  in  and  reported  that  the  rebel  general 
was  about  to  evacuate  his  works.  A  day  or  two 
before,  Grant  had  received  a  note  from  Bragg  ad- 
vising him  to  remove  non-combatants  from  Chat- 
tanooga, as  he  was  about  to  open  upon  it  with 
his  cannon.  He,  however,  paid  no  attention  to 
it,  and  now  concluded  it  was  intended  to  mis- 
lead him,  while  a  safe  retreat  was  effected.  He 
therefore  directed  Thomas  the  next  day  to  make 
a  reconnoisance  in  force,  and  feel  the  enemy's  lines, 
to  see  if  it  were  so.  The  battalions  were  deploy- 
ed in  the  bright  sunlight,  in  full  view  of  the 
enemy,  who  thought  it  was  a  parade.  They  were, 
however,  soon  undeceived  —  for  the  imposing 
columns  moved  rapidly  forward,  and  though  can- 
non and  musketry  opened  upon  them,  never 
paused  until  the  advanced  line  of  the  enemy  was 
carried  and  held.  By  this  unexpected  movement, 
Grant  planted  himself  a  mile  nearer  Missionary 
Ridge,  and  occupied  Orchard  Knob,  a  valuable 
position,  with  the  loss  of  only  a  little  over  a  hun- 
dred men. 

At  last  Sherman's  army,  with  the  exception  of 
one  division,  was  up,  and  Grant  determined  to 
strike  without  a  moment's  delay.  His  genera] 


A  FOOTHOLD   SECURED.  259 

plan  was  to  have  Sherman  with  the  army  of  the 
Tennessee  throw  itself  across  the  river  opposite 
Missionary  Kidge,  make  a  lodgment  there,  and 
then  assail  Bragg's  right  wing,  posted  on  that 
extremity  of  the  mountain.  Hooker,  while  Sher- 
man was  getting  into  position,  was  to  carry  Look- 
out Mountain,  the  other  extremity,  and  be  ready 
to  press  forward  the  next  day  and  cut  off  the  rebel 
retreat,  or  operate  on  his  left  and  rear,  while 
Thomas,  with  his  twenty  thousand  men,  at  a  given 
signal  was  to  charge  straight  up  the  rocky  heights 
and  carry  them  by  storm. 

It  was  of  the  first  importance  that  Bragg  should 
be  kept  ignorant  of  Sherman's  movement  until 
he  had  effected  a  crossing,  and  Grant,  therefore, 
manoeuvred  his  troops  in  a  manner  to  make  him 
think  an  attack  was  meditated  against  his  left, 
and  so  drew  his  attention  in  that  direction.  ID 
the  meantime,  Sherman's  columns,  concealed  by 
hills  near  the  shore,  passed  up  the  river  till  they 
reached  Chickamauga  Creek,  above  Chattanooga, 
In  anticipation  of  this  movement,  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  pontoons  had  been  concealed  in  a 
stream  near  by,  which,  after  dark,  were  floated 
down  into  the  Tennessee,  full  of  soldiers ;  and  by 
dawn  the  next  day  eight  thousand  men  were  on 
the  other  shore,  and  had  thrown  up  a  rifle  trench 
as  a  tete  du  pont.  A.  bridge  thirteen  hundred  feet 
long  was  immediately  begun,  and  by  one  o'clock 


260  LITE  OF  GRANT. 

was  shaking  to  the  tread  of  the  hurrying  columns. 
A  drizzling  rain  was  falling  at  the  time,  which, 
with  the  low  clouds  wrapping  the  heights,  conceal- 
ed the  movement. 

By  three  o'clock,  Bragg,  to  his  astonishment, 
found  an  army  hanging  along  the  sides  of  Mis- 
sionary Ridge,  on  his  extreme  right.  A  feeble  at- 
tempt was  made  to  repel  the  advance,  but  the 
artillery,  dragged  up  the  steep  ascent,  scattered 
the  enemy,  and  night  found  Sherman  securely 
planted. 

While  Sherman  was  thus  securing  a  lodgment 
on  the  rebel  right,  Hooker  was  carrying  Lookout 
Mountain  on  his  left.  "  The  ascent  of  the  moun- 
tain is  steep  and  thickly  wooded ;  beetling  crags 
peer  out  all  over  its  sides  from  the  masses  of  heavy 
foilage,  and,  at  the  summit,  a  lofty  palisaded  crest 
rises  perpendicularly,  as  many  as  sixty  or  eighty 
feet.  On  the  northern  slope,  about  midway  be- 
tween the  summit  and  the  Tennessee,  a  plateau  of 
open  and  arable  land  belts  the  mountain.  There, 
a  continuous  line  of  earthworks  had  been  thrown 
up  ;  while  redoubts,  redans,  and  rifle-pits  .were 
scattered  lower  down  the  acclivity,  to  repel  as- 
saults from  the  direction  of  the  river.  On  each 
flank  were  epaulements,  walls  of  stone,  and  abatis  ; 
and,  in  the  valley  itself,  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, long  lines  of  earthworks,  of  still  greater  ex- 
tent. The  entire  force,  for  the  defence  of  the 


BATTLE  ABOVE  THE  CLOUDS.        261 

mountain,  consisted  of  six  brigades,  or  about  seven 
thousand  men.'1 

In  the  same  drizzling  rain  and  fog  that  had 
partially  concealed  Sherman's  movement,  Hooker 
began  his  march.  As  he  looked  up  the  rugged 
slopes,  he  saw  that  no  common  task  had  been  as- 
signed him,  but  it  was  in  just  such  emergencies 
that  his  great  qualities  exhibited  themselves, 
That  cloud-capped  summit  must  be  won,  and 
the  first  step  taken  toward  victory.  The  bugles 
sounded  u  forward,"  and  the  columns  took  up 
their  line  of  march  for  the  base,  and  heedless  of 
the  iron-storm  that  beat  from  above  upon  them, 
reached  it  and  began  to  climb  like  mountain  goats 
the  steep  ascent.  Sometimes  stopped  for  a  mo- 
ment, but  never  driven  back,  they  kept  unwaver- 
ingly on  till  they  entered  the  low  hanging  clouds, 
which  suddenly  wrapped  them  from  sight.  Grant 
and  Thomas,  and  others  down  in  Chattanooga, 
gazed  anxiously  toward  the  hidden  summit,  and 
listened  with  beating  hearts  to  the  crashing  vollies 
and  deep  roar  of  artillery  that  came  out  of  the 
mysterious  bosom  of  the  clouds.  Lookout,  for 
the  time,  seemed  famed  Olympus  on  which  Ju- 
piter was  thundering,  or  the  gods  contending  in 
celestial  fury.  Nought  could  be  seen,  and  though 
the  heavy  explosions  of  artillery  remained  station- 
ary, the  vollies  of  musketry  seemed  to  creep 
nearer  and  nearer  to  t'lie  summit.  At  this  mo- 


262  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

ment  of  intense  excitement,  the  fog  suddenly 
lifted,  letting  down  the  light  of  heaven  upon  the 
mountain  top,  and  revealing  as  by  magic  to  the 
gazing  thousands  below,  a  scene  of  sublime  and 
thrilling  interest.  There,  amid  the  rocky  ledges, 
in  front  of  the  rebel  works,  stood  our  gallant 
troops,  their  banners  mere  specks  against  the  sky. 
The  battle  was  raging  furiously,  for  this  was  the 
last  foothold  of  the  enemy — driven  from  the  sum- 
mit, the  mountain  was  Hooker's.  The  whole  army 
in  Chattanooga  were  witnesses  of  this  strange 
fight  among  the  clouds,  and  when  at  length  they 
saw  the  enemy  driven  out  of  his  works,  and  our 
banners  wave  above  them,  they  broke  forth  into 
a  shout  that  rent  the  heavens,  and  long,  loud  ac- 
clamations surged  backward  and  forward  through 
the  valley.  But  the  fighting  did  not  cease  till 
after  dark,  and  the  rebel  signal-light  could  be  seen 
waving  from  the  lofty  summit  to  Bragg  on  Mis- 
sionary Ridge,  while  jets  of  flame  pierced  the 
gloom,  and  the  muffled  vollies  fell  faintly  on  the 
ear  below. 

But  the  height  was  won ;  and  Hooker  at  once 
opened  communication  with  Chattanooga. 

Every  thing  had  worked  to  Grant's  satisfaction, 
and  he  only  waited  for  the  morning  light  to  hurl 
his  sixty  thousand  men  on  the  rugged  heights  hi 
his  front.  During  the  night  it  cleared  off,  and  a 
sharp  autumnal  frost  rendered  the  air  of  that  high 


MORKING  OF  THE  BATTLE.         263 

region  still  clearer,  and  gave  a  darker  blue  to  the 
deep  vault  of  heaven.  The  soldiers  crowned  the 
hills  with  camp-fires,  revealing  to  the  enemy  their 
position,  as  well  as  showing  to  their  friends  in 
Chattanooga  the  important  points  that  had  been 
gained.  At  midnight  a  staff  officer  of  Grant 
reached  Sherman  with  directions  to  attack  at  day- 
break, saying  that  Thomas  would  also  attack 
"early  in  the  day."  Sherman  turned  in  for  a 
short  nap,  but  before  daylight  he  was  in  the  sad- 
dle, and  riding  the  whole  length  of  his  lines,  ex- 
amined well  his  position  and  that  of  the  enemy. 
I3y  the  dim  light  he  saw,  to  his  surprise,  that  a 
valley  or  gorge  lay  between  him  and  the  next  hill, 
which  was  very  steep,  and  that  the  farther  point 
was  held  by  the  enemy  with  a  breastwork  of  logs 
and  earth  in  front.  A  still  higher  hill  command- 
ed this  with  a  plunging  fire,  which  was  also 
crowded  with  the  foe.  He  could  not  see  the  bot- 
tom of  the  gorge  below,  and  was  not  able  to  com- 
plete his  preparations  so  as  to  attack  by  daylight, 
as  he  had  been  ordered.  General  Corse  was  to 
lead  the  advance,  and  before  he  had  fully  mar- 
shalled his  forces,  the  sun  arose  in  dazzling  bright- 
ness over  the  eastern  heights,  and  flooded  the  scene 
with  beauty.  His  beams  were  sent  back  from 
tens  of  thousands  of  bayonet  points,  and  flashing 
athwart  long  rows  of  cannon,  while  the  increasing 
light  brought  out  in  a  grand  panoramic  picture, 


264  LITE   OF   GRANT. 

Chattanooga  resting  quietly  below  in  its  amphi 
theatre  of  hills.  Banners  waved  along  the  heights, 
and  rose  over  Grants  encampment  in  the  distance, 
and  all  was  bright  and  beautiful.  Here  and  there 
a  bugle-call  and  drum-beat  gave  increased  interest 
to  the  scene.  But  its  beauty  was  soon  to  change 
— those  summits,  now  baptized  in  golden  light, 
were  to  be  wrapped  in  smoke  and  heave  to  volca- 
nic fires,  and  strong  columns  stagger  bleeding 
along  their  sides. 

Sherman  at  length  being  ready,  Corse's  bugles 
sounded  the  "forward,"  and  the  assaulting  regi- 
ments moved  steadily  down  the  hill,  across  the 
intervening  valley,  and  up  the  opposing  slope. 
Morgan  L.  Smith  on  the  left  of  the  ridge,  and 
Colonel  Loomis  abreast  of  the  Tunnel,  drew  a 
portion  of  the  enemy's  fire  away  from  the  assault- 
ing column,  which  having  closed  in  a  death-grap- 
ple with  the  foe,  now  advanced  its  banners,  and 
now  receded,  but  never  yielding  the  position  it 
had  at  first  gained.  Grant  could  see  the  struggle 
from  his  position  at  Chattanooga,  and  at  one  time 
observing  two  brigades  give  way  in  disorder, 
thought  Sherman  was  repulsed ;  but  it  was  not 
so.  Corse,  Loomis,  and  Smith,  stuck  to  the  ene- 
my with  a  tenacity  that  gave  him  not  a  moment's 
rest.  Sherman's  position  not  only  threatened  the 
rebel  right  flank,  but  his  rear  and  stores  at  Chick 
amauga  station ;  hence  the  persistency  of  his  at- 


SHERMAN   IMPATIENT.  265 

tack  alarmed  Bragg,  and  he  steadily  accumulated 
forces  against  him  that  rendered  an  advance  on 
Sherman's  part  impossible.  Hour  after  hour  the 
contest  raged  with  terrible  ferocity,  and  the  flam- 
ing cloud- wrapped  heights  appeared  to  the  lookers- 
on  at  Chattanooga  like  a  volcano  in  full,  fierce 
action.  Grant  had  told  Sherman  that  Thomas 
would  attack  early  in  the  day,  but  the  former 
watched  in  vain  for  the  movement.  The  gallant 
Corse  had  been  borne  wounded  from  the  field,  and 
Grant,  fearing  that  Sherman  was  being  too  heavily 
pressed,  sent  over  to  his  help  Baird's  division ; 
but  Sherman  sent  it  back,  saying  he  had  all  the 
troops  that  he  wanted.  Thus,  he  fought  the  battle 
alone  all  the  forenoon,  and  still  the  banners  droop- 
ed lazily  along  their  staffs  in  front  of  Chattanooga. 
He  began  to  grow  impatient.  In  the  bright  clear 
air  he  could  look  down  from  his  position  on  the 
"amphitheatre  of  Chattanooga,"  but  could  dis- 
cern no  signs  of  the  promised  movement.  Now 
and  then  a  solitary  cannon-shot  alone  told  that 
the  army  there  was  alive;  but  beyond,  toward 
Lookout,  where  Hooker  was  trying  to  advance, 
the  heavy  reverberations  of  artillery,  and  dull 
sound  of  musketry,  showed  that  he  was  pushing 
the  enemy.  Thus  matters  stood  at  three  o'clock, 
when,  said  Sherman,  "I  saw  column  after  column 
of  the  enemy  streaming  toward  me,  gun  after  gun 
pouring  its  concentric  shot  on  us  from  every  hill 
12 


266  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

and  spur  that  gave  a  view  of  any  part  of  the 
ground  held  by  us."  The  attack  of  Thomas, 
which  was  to  be  "  early  in  the  day,"  was  unac- 
countably delayed,  and  what  could  it  all  mean, 
was  the  anxious  enquiry  he  put  to  himself.  One 
thing  was  plain — his  exhausted  columns  could  riot 
long  stand  this  accumulation  of  numbers  and  con- 
centration of  artillery.  Grant,  too,  was  anxious. 
The  appearance  of  Hooker's  column,  moving  north 
along  the  ridge  on  the  other  flank  of  the  enemy, 
was  to  be  the  signal  of  assault  on  the  centre ;  but 
hour  after  hour  passed  by  and  no  advancing  ban- 
ners were  seen.  The  latter  had  been  detained  in 
building  a  bridge  across  Chattanooga  Creek. 

At  length,  he  could  wait  no  longer,  and  hearing 
that  Hooker  was  well  advanced,  and  seeing  the 
centre  weakened,  to  overthrow  Sherman,  he  or- 
dered the  assault  to  be  made.  Sherman,  whose 
glass  was  scarcely  for  a  moment  turned  from  the 
centre,  now  saw  with  relief  a  "white  line  of 
musketry  fire  in  front  of  Orchard  Knob,  extend- 
ing further  right  and  left  and  on.1'  "  We  could 
hear,"  he  says,  "  only  a  faint  echo  of  sound ;  but 
enough  was  seen  to  satisfy  me  that  General  Thom- 
as was  moving  on  the  centre." 

He  ivas  moving,  but  it  was  now  nearly  four 
o'clock  in  the  short  autumnal  afternoon,  and 
Grant  had  waited  and  waited  with  painful  sus- 
pense, for  Hooker's  advance.  What  was  to  be 


THE   GRAND   ASSAULT.  26? 

done  must  be  done  quickly;  and,  as  now,  from 
his  elevated  knoll,  he  saw  the  hostile  columns 
moving  swiftly  along  the  ridge  toward  Sherman, 
showing  that  Br°,gg  was  weakening  his  centre  to 
strengthen  his  right,  he  knew  that  the  decisive 
hour  had  come.  The  rebel  general  was  repeating 
the  mistake  committed  by  the  allies  at  Austerlitz 
— making  a  flank  movement  in  presence  of  the 
enemy,  and,  like  Napoleon,  Grant  at  once  took 
advantage  of  it,  and  gave  the  order  to  advance. 

The  signal  was  six  cannon  shots,  fired  at  inter- 
vals of  two  seconds  each.  With  regular  beat,  one, 
two,  three  sounded,  till,  as  the  last  deep  reverbera- 
tion rolled  away  over  the  heights,  there  was  a  sud- 
den resurrection,  as  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
of  that  apparently  dead  line.  Four  divisions  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  composed  it.  A  mile 
and  a  half  of  country  lay  before  them  to  the  rifle- 
pits  at  the  base  of  Missionary  Bidge.  First,  a 
belt  of  open  timber,  and  then  a  smooth  plain,  then 
the  rifle-pits  at  the  base  of  the  Ridge — finally,  the 
rocky  hill,  four  hundred  feet  high  to  mount,  every 
inch  of  it  swept  by  artillery  and  musketry.  Pass- 
ing through  the  woods,  they  burst  on  a  double- 
quick  into  the  open  plain.  The  tempest  that  now 
broke  upon  their  heads  was  terrible.  "  The  enemy's 
fire  burst  out  of  the  rifle-pits  from  base  to  summit 
of  Mission  Ridge ;  five  rebel  batteries  of  Parrots 
and  Napoleons  opened  along  the  crest.  Grapg 


268  LIFE  OP 

and  canister,  and  shot  and  shell,  sowed  the  ground 
with  rugged  iron,  and  garnished  it  with  the  wound- 
ed and  the  dead.  But  steady  and  strong  our 
columns  moved  on.11 

Over  their  heads,  from  every  commanding  fort 
and  hill,  our  batteries  rained  a  horrible  tempest 
of  iron  on  the  rebel  works.  Under  this  awful 
canopy,  the  glittering  lines  breasted  on  a  run  the 
fiery  sleet  that  smote  them  in  front,  each  eye  fixed 
unwaveringly  on  the  rifle-pits  at  the  foot  of  the 
Ridge.  The  sun  was  now  hanging  just  above  the 
western  horizon,  pouring  its  flood  of  light  upon 
their  backs,  and  shining  full  in  the  enemy's  faces. 
As  the  unclouded  rays  fell  on  those  twice  ten 
thousand  bayonet-points,  sweeping  in  one  glitter- 
ing wave  across  the  plain,  the  dazzling  sheen  of 
light  was  so  terrible,  that  the  rebels  in  the  rifle- 
pits  fled  before  it  in  affright,  or  fell  prostrate  in 
the  trenches,  and  let  it  roll  in  flashing  splendor 
over  them,  without  firing  a  shot. 

The  orders  were,  that  when  the  rifle-pits  were 
carried,  the  line  should  be  halted  and  re-formed 
for  an  advance  up  the  heights.  But,  as  the  men 
bounded  into  them  with  a  shout,  they  forgot  all 
orders.  Their  blood  was  now  up,  and  sending 
their  loud  hurrah  above  the  deafening  thunder- 
peals that  shook  mountain  and  plain,  they  began 
to  scale  the  rocky  slope.  The  fire  that  opened  on 
them  was  appalling.  It  was  no  longer  round  shot 


A   TBBBIFIC   SCENE.  269 

and  shell,  but  canister,  grape,  and  musketry, 
Missionary  Ridge  was  a  volcano,  "a  thousand 
torrents  of  fire  poured  over  its  brink,  and  rushed 
together  to  its  base.  But  the  line  moves  on  and 
up.  They  cannot  dash  up  that  rugged  acclivity. 
They  dash  out  a  little  way,  and  then  slacken ; 
they  creep  up,  hand  over  hand,  loading  and  firing, 
and  wavering  and  halting,  from  the  first  line  of 
works  to  the  second;  they  burst  into  a  charge 
with  a  cheer,  and  go  over  it.  Sheets  of  flame 
baptize  them ;  plunging  shot  tear  away  comrades 
on  left  and  right;  it  is  no  longer  shoulder  tc 
shoulder;  it  is  God  for  us  all!  Under  tree- 
trunks,  among  rocks,  stumbling  over  the  dead, 
struggling  with  the  living,  facing  the  steady  fire 
of  eight  thousand  infantry  poured  down  upon 
their  heads  as  if  it  were  the  old  historic  curse  from 
heaven,  they  wrestle  with  the  Ridge.  Ten,  fifteen, 
twenty  minutes  go  by,  like  a  reluctant  century. 
The  batteries  roll  like  a  drum.  Between  the 
second  and  last  lines  of  rebel  works  is  the  torrid 
zone  of  the  battle.  The  hill  sways  up  like  a  wall 
before  them,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  but 
our  brave  mountaineers  are  clambering  steadily 
on — up — upward  still !  " 

It  was  thrilling,  maddening  to  see  those  waver- 
ing banners  fluttering  alternately  high  up  the 
steep  acclivity,  amid  flame  and  smoke.  Now  one 
and  now  another  would  sink  to  the  ground  along 


270  LITE   OF   GEANT. 

the  steep,  as  the  bearers  were  shot  down,  but  the 
next  moment  they  would  gleam  aloft  again,  as  gal- 
lant comrades  seized  them,  and  carried  them  far- 
ther up  the  slope.  The  ranks  melted  rapidly  away, 
but  the  survivors  kept  on.  Grant  gazed,  appa- 
rently unmoved,  at  the  sight,  yet  with  his  whole 
soul  hi  the  struggle.  Even  the  impassable  Thomas, 
as  he  saw  the  slow  and  difficult  progress,  exclaimed 
to  Grant :  "  I  fear,  General,  they  will  never  reach 
the  top."  The  latter  merely  replied :  "  Give  'ein 
time,  General,  give  'em  time.1'  At  last  the  crimson, 
glittering  tide  reached  the  crest,  and  just  as  the  sun 
was  sinking  below  the  western  horizon,  flooding 
the  heights  with  his  departing  rays,  it  rolled  over 
them,  and  Grant  knew  they  were  won.  Then 
there  went  up  a  shout,  like  the  far-off  murmur  of 
the  sea,  and  as  the  muffled  sound  reached  the  ear 
of  Grant,  his  compressed  lips  wreathed  with  a 
smile,  and  the  burden  lifted  from  his  heart. 

"But  the  scene  on  the  narrow  plateau  can 
never  be  painted.  As  the  blue-coats  surged  over 
its  edge,  cheer  on  cheer  rang  like  bells  through 
the  valley  of  the  Chickamauga.  Men  flung  them- 
selves exhausted  upon  the  ground.  They  laughed 
and  wept,  shook  hands,  and  embraced ;  turned 
round,  and  did  all  four  over  again.  It  was  as 
wild  as  a  carnival  Granger  was  received  with  a 
shout  'Soldiers,'  he  said,  'you  ought  to  be 
court-martialled,  every  man  of  you !  I  ordered 


A   MOONLIGHT   SCENE.  271 

you  to  take  the  rifle-pits,  and  you  scaled  the 
mountain ! '  But  it  was  not  Mars'  horrid  front 
exactly,  with  which  he  said  it,  for  his  cheeks  were 
wet  with  tears  as  honest  as  the  blood  that  redden- 
ed all  the  route.  Wood  uttered  words  that  rang 
like  '  Napoleon's  ;'  and  Sheridan,  the  rowels  at  his 
horse's  flanks,  was  ready  for  a  dash  down  the 
Ridge  with  a  i  view  halloo,'  for  a  fox-hunt." 

Bragg  and  his  staff-officers  attempted  to  rally 
the  troops,  and  form  a  second  line  of  battle,  in 
vain,  and  the  disordered  host  fled  in  affright. 
Sheridan,  from  the  Bidge,  saw  the  disorganized 
columns  and  confused  wagon  trains  surging 
through  the  valley  below,  and  pushed  fiercely  on. 
A  mile  in  the  rear,  the  road  wound  along  a  high 
hill  on  which  Bragg  had  planted  batteries,  defend- 
ed by  a  strong  force  of  infantry,  to  check  the  pur- 
suit. These  now  poured  a  rapid  fire  into  Sheri- 
dan's division,  but  it  kept  steadily  on,  and  reaching 
the  base,  a  part  began  to  climb  the  mountain  in 
front,  while  Sheridan  sent  two  regiments  to  flank 
it  on  both  sides  at  once.  It  was  now  dark,  and 
just  as  one  of  these  regiments  came  over  the  crest 
of  the  hill,  the  moon  rose  behind  it,  and  the  col- 
umn, with  bayonets  and  banners,  was  drawn  in 
black,  bold  relief  against  the  glittering  orb. 

Hooker,  too,  was  in  full  pursuit ;  while  Grant, 
the  moment  the  Bidge  was  carried,  put  spurs  to  his 
horse  and  rode  to  the  top,  to  direct  the  move- 


272  LIFE   OF   GRANT, 

merts,  cheered  by  the  excited  soldiers  wherever 
he  moved.  He  kept  on  for  a  mile  or  two,  but 
night  checked  further  pursuit,  except  by  Sheridan, 
that  nothing  seemed  able  to  stop — and  though  con- 
fused by  the  darkness  and  ignorant  of  the  roads, 
he  kept  on  for  seven  miles,  carrying  consternation 
into  the  fugitive  ranks. 

But  the  bugle  sounding  recall  along  and  be- 
neath that  blood-stained  Hidge,  arrested  the  army, 
and  under  the  bright  moon  it  went  into  bivouac 
with  cheers,  that,  taken  up  by  division  after  di- 
vision, made  that  autumnal  evening  jubilant  with 
glad  echoes. 

Six  thousand  prisoners  and  forty  cannon,  were 
the  trophies  of  the  victory. 

At  seven  o'clock  that  night,  Grant  sat  down 
and  wrote  the  following  modest  despatch  to  Hal- 
leek  : — 

CHATTANOOGA,  November  25,  1863 — 7. 15,  p.  M. 
Major-General  H.  W.  HALLECK,  General-in-Chief : 

Although  the  battle  lasted  from  early  dawn  till  dark 
this  evening,  I  believe  I  am  not  premature  in  an- 
nouncing a  complete  victory  over  Bragg. 

Lookout  Mountain  top,  all  the  line-pits  in  Chatta- 
nooga Valley,  and  Missionary  Ridge  entire,  have  been 
carried,  and  are  now  held  by  us.  I  have  no  idea  of 
finding  Bragg  here  to-morrow. 

U.  S.  GEAITT,  Major-General. 

From  this  despatch  one  would  never  dream 
that  he  had  carried  every  strong  position  of  the 


THE   PURSUIT.  273 

enemy,  who  was  now  in  full  flight,  miles  away ; 
killed,  wounded,  or  captured  nearly  a  fifth  of 
Bragg's  entire  force,  and  taken  forty  pieces  of 
artillery. 

Next  morning,  the  pursuit  was  recommenced, 
Grant  riding  with  the  advanced  columns. 

Sherman,  from  his  position,  also  moved  forward, 
and,  as  he  reached  the  depot  of  the  enemy,  found 
it  a  scene  of  desolation.  "  Corn-meal  and  corn, 
in  huge  burning  piles,  broken  wagons,  abandoned 
caissons  and  guns,  burned  carriages,  pieces  of 
pontoons,  and  all  manner  of  things,  burning  and 
broken,"  attested  the  ravages  of  war.  Along  the 
road,  strewed  with  the  wrecks  of  the  fight,  he 
pressed  on  till  night,  when,  just  as  he  emerged 
from  a  miry  swamp,  he  came  upon  the  enemy's 
rear-guard.  A  sharp  contest  followed,  but  the 
night  closed  in  so  dark  that  he  could  not  move 
forward.  Here,  in  the  gloom,  Grant  joined  him. 
The  next  morning  he  continued  the  pursuit ;  but 
finding  the  roads  filled  with  all  the  troops  "  they 
could  accommodate,"  he  halted  and  turned  to  the 
east,  to  break  up  the  communications  between 
Bragg  and  Longstreet,  now  before  Knoxville. 

Hooker  also  kept  on  all  day,  after  the  fleeing 
enemy;  and  Grant  would  have  pressed  the  pur- 
suit as  long  as  he  could  have  fed  his  men,  but  for 
his  anxiety  to  relieve  Burnside.  He  therefore 
ordered  it  to  cease,  and  at  once  directed  Granger, 
12* 


274  LITE   OF   GRANT, 

and  soon  after  Sherman,  to  march  for  Knoxville 
and  raise  the  siege.  To  the  latter,  this  was  as- 
signing a  terrible  task  It  was  hard  to  ask  his 
troops,  after  a  march  of  four  hundred  miles,  and 
a  fierce  battle,  and  days  of  pursuit,  now  to  make 
a  forced  march  of  eighty-four  miles,  in  winter, 
over  a  broken  country.  u  Seven  days  before," 
says  he,  "  we  had  left  our  camp  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Tennessee,  with  two  days1  rations,  without 
a  change  of  clothing,  stripped  for  the  fight,  with 
but  a  single  blanket  or  coat  per  man — from  my- 
self to  the  private.  Of  course,  we  then  had  no 
provisions,  save  what  we  gathered  by  the  road, 
and  were  ill  supplied  for  such  a  march.  But  we 
learned  that  twelve  thousand  of  our  fellow-soldiers 
were  beleaguered  in  the  mountains  of  Knoxville, 
eighty-four  miles  distant ;  that  they  needed  relief, 
and  must  have  it  in  three  days.  This  was  enough, 
and  it  had  to  be  done,"  and  he  at  once  put  his 
army  in  motion. 

Longstreet  heard  of  his  approach,  and  hastily 
raising  the  siege,  retreated  eastward. 

The  campaign  was  now  ended,  and  Grant  could 
take  a  quiet  survey  of  his  position.  With  sixty 
thousand  men,  he  had  driven  forty-five  thousand 
from  positions  that  the  enemy  supposed  half  of 
that  number  could  hold  forever ;  relieved  all  East 
Tennessee ;  and  firmly  established  a  base  for  fur- 
ther operations  into  the  interior. 


DRAMATIC   SCENERY.  275 

Although  the  campaign  had  closed  with  a  thun- 
der-clap, on  a  narrow  strip  of  mountain,  it  had  em- 
braced a  wide  field  in  its  progress.  It  took  in  the 
Army  of  the  Ohio,  nearly  ninety  miles  distant, 
in  Knoxville ;  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee,  hun- 
dreds of  miles  away,  toiling  through  a  hostile 
country ;  as  well  as  Chattanooga  itself.  Every 
thing  centered  around  the  single  person  of  Grant, 
who,  at  the  latter  place,  was  the  moving  power 
of  the  whole. 

Having  at  length  gathered  the  scattered,  isolat- 
ed elements  into  his  single  hand,  he  hurled  them 
in  one  mighty  blow  on  the  enemy,  crushing  him 
into  fragments.  His  plan  of  battle  was  simple, 
and  carried  out  like  an  order  for  a  parade.  Right 
in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  who  could  look 
down  on  all  his  movements  from  his  high  perch; 
he  laid  all  his  plans,  and  executed  them  with  the 
precision  of  one  who  is  master  of  fate.  And 
never  before  was  a  battle  fought  in  which  there 
were  more  dramatic  scenery  and  action  combined. 
Mountain  heights  crowned  with  the  enemy,  look- 
ing down  on  quiet  camps  below ;  troops  fighting 
above  the  clouds ;  Grant,  the  central  figure  of  the 
great  panorama,  standing  on  a  low  hill,  with 
three  armies  thundering  and  shouting  above  and 
around  him ;  the  descending  sun,  flooding  all  in  its 
departing  splendor,  are  only  so  many  shifting 
scenes  in  the  mighty  drama. 


276  LIFE   OP  GRANT. 

This  brilliant  campaign,  so  glorious  in  its  re 
suits,  lifted  Grant  to  the  highest  summit  of  mili- 
tary renown,  and  stamped  him  one  of  the  greatest 
generals  of  his  time.     The  President,  overjoyed 
at  the  result,  sent  the  following  telegram  to  him  : 

WASHINGTON,  December  8. 
Major-General  GRANT  : 

Understanding  that  your  lodgment  at  Chattanooga 
and  Knoxville  is  now  secure,  I  wish  to  tender  you,  and 
all  under  your  command,  my  more  than  thanks — my 
profoundest  gratitude,  for  the  skill,  courage,  and  perse- 
verance with  which  you  and  they,  over  so  great  diffi- 
culties, have  effected  that  important  object.  God  bless 
you  all !  A.  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Grant  again  proposes  to  capture  Mobile — His  Views  Opposed— 
His  Congratulatory  Order  to  his  Troops — Congress  Orders  a 
Medal  struck  for  him — He  wishes  to  carry  on  a  Winter  Cam- 
paign, but  is  unable — Sends  Sherman  on  a  raid  into  Mississippi — 
A  Public  Dinner  given  him  in  Louisville — His  Political  views — 
Made  Lieutenant-General,  and  ordered  to  Washington — Inter- 
esting Correspondence  between  him  and  Sherman — His  Re- 
ception at  Washington — His  Commission  presented  him  by  the 
President — Grandeur  of  his  Position — Hurries  up  Banks — 
Maturing  of  Plans. 

GRANT  now  again  proposed  to  the  Government 
a  movement  against  Mobile,  promising  to  capture 
or  secure  its  investment  by  the  last  of  January ; 
but  his  request  was  refused. 

Soon  after,  he  issued  the  following  congratula- 
tory order  to  the  Army : 

HEADQTJABTERS,  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  J 
IN  THE  FIELD,  CHATTANOOGA,  TENN., 

December  10,  1863.      ) 

(The  General  Commanding  takes  this  opportunity  of 
returning  his  sincere  thanks  and  congratulations  to  the 
"brave  armies  of  the  Cumberland,  the  Ohio,  the  Ten- 
nessee, and  their  comrades  from  the  Potomac,  for  the 
recent  splendid  and  decisive  successes  achieved  over  the 
enemy.  In  a  short  time,  you  have  recovered  from  him 
the  control  of  the  Tennessee  River,  from  Bridgeport  to 
Knoxville.  You  dislodged  him  from  his  ^reat  strong- 
hold upon  Lookout  Mountain,  drove  him  from  Chatta- 


278  LIFE   OF   GBANT. 

nooga  Valley,  wrested  from  his  determined  grasp  the 
possession  of  Missionary  Ilidge,  repelled  with  heavy 
loss  to  him  his  repeated  assaults  upon  Knoxville,  forcing 
him  to  raise  the  siege  there,  driving  him  at  all  points, 
utterly  routed  and  discomfited,  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  State.  By  your  noble  heroism  and  determined 
courage,  you  have  most  effectually  defeated  the  plans  of 
the  enemy  for  regaining  possession  of  the  States  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  You  have  secured  positions  from 
which  no  rebellious  power  can  drive  or  dislodge  you. 
For  all  this,  the  General  Commanding  thanks  you  collec- 
tively and  individually.  The  loyal  people  of  the  United 
States  thank  and  bless  you.  Their  hopes  and  prayers 
for  your  success  against  this  unholy  rebellion  are  with 
you  daily.  Their  faith  in  you  will  not  be  in  vain. 
Their  hopes  will  not  be  blasted.  Their  prayers  to  Al- 
mighty God  will  be  answered.  You  will  yet  go  to  other 
fields  of  strife ;  and  with  the  invincible  bravery  and 
unflinching  loyalty  to  justice  and  right  which  have 
characterized  you  in  the  past,  you  will  prove  that  no 
enemy  can  withstand  you,  and  that  no  defences,  how- 
ever formidable,  can  check  your  onward  march. 

By  order,  Major-General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

About  Christmas  lie  visited  Knoxville,  to  look 
after  matters  there  in  person.  In  the  mean  time, 
he  had  planned  the  great  raid  into  Mississippi, 
known  as  the  Meridian  raid.  About  the  middle 
of  January,  he  returned  to  Nashville,  where  he 
had  established  his  headquarters. 

Congress,  in  the  mean  time,  passed  a  vote  of 
thanks,  and  ordered  a  medal  to  be  struck  in  com- 
memoration of  the  great  services  he  had  rendered 
the  country. 

Notwithstanding  Grant  desired  greatly  to  car- 


MERIDIAN   RAID.  279 

ry  on  a  winter  campaign,  circumstances  rendered 
it  impossible.  Thomas,  at  Chattanooga,  could  not 
push  on  through  the  mountains  towards  Atlanta, 
while  the  impossibility  of  supplying  the  army  at 
Knoxville,  in  the  field,  if  properly  reinforced,  com- 
pelled him  to  give  up  his  first  purpose  to  move 
against  Longstreet,  who  still  lingered  in  East 
Tennessee.  Besides,  the  term  for  which  a  large 
part  of  the  volunteers  had  enlisted  expired  this 
winter,  and,  in  order  to  induce  them  to  re-enlist, 
a  furlough  of  sixty  days  was  given  them.  Hence, 
no  general  movement  could  be  set  on  foot,  and 
Grant  contented  himself  with  sending  Sherman 
on  his  raid  into  Mississippi,  to  be  supported  by  a 
large  body  of  cavalry,  starting  about  the  same 
time  from  Corinth.  The  object  he  had  in  view 
may  be  seen  from  his  orders  to  Sherman,  as  in- 
dicated in  the  following  letter  to  Halleck : 

"  I  shall  direct  Sherman,  therefore,  to  move  out 
to  Meridian,  with  his  spare  force,  the  cavalry 
going  from  Corinth ;  and  destroy  the  roads  east 
and  south  of  there  so  effectually,  that  the  enemy 
will  not  attempt  to  rebuild  them  during  the  re- 
bellion. He  will  then  return,  unless  opportunity 
of  going  into  Mobile  with  the  force  he  has,  ap- 
pears perfectly  plain.  Owing  to  the  large  number 
of  veterans  furloughed,  I  will  not  be  able  to  do 
more  at  Chattanooga  than  to  threaten  an  ad- 
vance, and  try  to  detain  the  force  now  in  Thomas' 


280  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

front.  Sherman  will  be  instructed,  whilst  left 
with  these  large  discretionary  powers,  to  take  no 
extra  hazard  of  losing  his  army,  or  of  getting  it 
crippled  too  much  for  efficient  service  in  the 
spring." 

Sherman  started  on  the  3d  of  February,  and 
pushed  as  far  as  Meridian,  sending  consternation 
through  the  South,  that  was  filled  with  all  kinds 
of  conjecture  as  to  the  object  and  end  of  his  march. 
The  cavalry  force  destined  to  accompany  him,  how- 
ever, was  driven  back  by  the  enemy,  which  embar- 
rassed his  movements  and  shortened  his  march,  so 
that,  after  destroying  the  railroad  depots  on  each 
side  of  Meridian  for  a  long  distance,  he  returned. 

In  the  latter  part  of  January,  hearing  that  his 
eldest  son  was  lying  dangerously  ill  at  St.  Louis, 
Grant  obtained  permission  to  visit  him.  His  ar- 
rival caused  great  excitement,  and  a  public  dinner 
was  tendered  him,  in  a  long,  flattering  letter. 
Finding  that  his  son  had  passed  the  crisis  of  his 
disease,  and  was  pronounced  out  of  danger,  he  ac- 
cepted the  invitation.  As  the  toast  to  him,  the 
honored  guest,  was  given,  the  band  struck  up 
"  Hail  to  the  Chief,"  and  at  the  close  of  the  strain, 
the  building  rocked  to  the  loud  hurrahs  of  the 
guests.  To  all  this  demonstration,  Grant  simply 
returned  his  thanks.  Afterwards,  when  the  crowd 
blocked  the  streets  and  asked  for  him  in  deafen- 
ing clamor,  he  reluctantly  appeared  oil  the 


POLITICAL   VIEWS.  281 

balcony  of  the  hoteL  His  appearance  was  greet- 
ed with  the  wildest  uproar,  and  deafening  calls  for 
a  speech.  But  he  only  said,  "Gentlemen,  I  thank 
you  for  this  honor.  I  cannot  make  a  speech.  It 
is  something  I  have  never  done,  and  never  intend 
to  do,  and  I  beg  you  will  excuse  me."  But  the 
surging  multitude  was  determined  not  to  be  put 
off  so.  It  did  not  believe  that  a  man  who  could 
so  coolly  face  that  mighty  throng,  blandly  smoking 
his  cigar  the  while,  could  not  make  a  speech  if 
he  was  inclined  to,  and  the  shout,  "  A  speech,  a 
speech,  a  speech!  "  rose  like  thunder  from  the 
streets  below.  A  gentleman  beside  him  said, 
General,  tell  them  you  can  fight  for  them,  but 
cannot  talk  to  them.  "  Some  one  else  must  say 
that  for  me,"  was  the  quiet  reply.  But  the 
clamor  swelling,  he  was  forced  to  open  his  mouth, 
and  said  in  sharp,  decided  tones,  "Gentlemen, 
making  speeches  is  not  my  business,  I  never  did 
it  in  my  life — never  will ;  I  thank  you,  however, 
for  your  attendance  here,"  and  retired,  much  to  the 
disappointment  of  the  crowd,  for,  to  an  American, 
a  crowd  without  a  speech  is  a  failure.  To  one  who, 
at  this  time,  asked  him  of  his  political  views,  he 
said :  "  These  are  not  the  times  for  parties.  In- 
deed, in  this  crisis  there  can  be  but  two  parties — 
those  for  the  country,  those  for  its  foes.  I  belong 
to  the  party  of  the  Union.  Those  who  are  the 
most  earnest  in  carrying  on  the  war  and  putting 


282  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

down  the  Rebellion,  have  my  support.  As  a 
soldier,  I  obey  the  laws  and  execute  the  orders 
of  all  my  superiors.  I  expect  every  man  under 
me  to  do  the  same." 

A  bill  which  had  been  introduced  into  Con- 
gress by  Mr.  Washburne,  to  revive  the  grade  of 
Lieutenant-General,  with  a  view  of  conferring  it 
on  Grant,  passed  in  the  latter  part  of  February. 
The  nomination  of  the  officer  to  hold  this  high 
position,  never  before  occupied  but  by  two  men, 
Washington  and  Scott,  belonging  to  the  Presi- 
dent, he,  in  accordance  with  his  own  inclinations, 
as  well  as  the  clearly  expressed  wish  of  the  people, 
sent  to  the  Senate  the  name  of  Grant.  He 
was  promptly  confirmed.  The  President  at  once 
sent  for  him  to  come  on  to  Washington,  and  he 
started  on  the  4th  of  March,  for  the  capital.  The 
very  day  he  received  the  intelligence  of  the  high 
command  to  which  he  had  been  nominated,  he 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  Sherman,  which, 
with  the  answer,  exhibits  both  these  great  com- 
manders in  a  most  attractive  light  He  says  : 

DEAR  SHERMAN, — The  bill  reviving  the  grade  of  Lieu- 
tenant-general in  the  Army  has  become  a  law,  and  my 
name  has  been  sent  to  the  Senate  for  the  place.  I  now 
receive  orders  to  report  to  Washington  immediately, 
in  person,  which  indicates  a  confirmation,  or  a  likeli- 
hood of  confirmation.  I^start  in  the  morning  to  comply 
with  the  order. 

Whilst  I  have  been  eminently  successful  in  this  war, 
i**  at  least  gaining  the  confidence  of  the  public,  no  one 


A  NOBLE   LETTER.  283 

feels  more  than  I,  how  much  of  this  success  is  due  ta 
the  energy,  skill,  and  the  harmonious  putting  forth  of 
that  energy  and  skill,  of  those  whom  it  has  been  my 
good  fortune  to  have  occupying  subordinate  positions 
under  me. 

There  are  many  officers  to  whom  these  remarks  are 
applicable  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  proportionate  to 
their  ability  as  soldiers  ;  but  what  I  want,  is  to  express 
my  thanks  to  you  and  McPherson,  as  the  men  to  whom, 
above  all  others,  I  feel  indebted  for  whatever  I  have  had 
of  success. 

How  far  your  advice  and  assistance  have  been  of  help 
to  me  you  know.  How  far  your  execution  of  whatever 
has  been  given  you  to  do,  entitles  you  to  the  reward  I 
am  receiving,  you  cannot  know  as  well  as  I.  I  feel  all 
the  gratitude  this  letter  would  express,  giving  it  the 
most  flattering  construction. 

The  word  you,  I  use  in  the  plural,  intending  it  for 
McPherson  also.  I  should  write  to  him,  and  will  some 
day,  but,  starting  in  the  morning,  I  do  not  know  that  I 
will  find  time  just  now. 

Your  friend, 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Major-GeneraL 

The  simple,  manly  sincerity  of  this  letter — the 
utter  absence  of  all  vanity  and  egotism — the  abne- 
gation of  all  claims  to  distinction  from  his  own 
merits,  the  generous  acknowledgment  of  the  claims 
and  services  of  others,  and  the  warm,  noble  friend- 
ship it  expresses,  reveal,  as  no  eulogy  could  do, 
the  truthfulness,  modesty  and  real  grandeur  of  his 
character.  Sherman  replied  as  follows  : 

DEAR  GENERAL  :  I  have  your  more  than  kind  and 
characteristic  letter  of  the  4th  instant.  I  will  send  a 
copy  to  General  McPherson  at  once.  You  do  yourself 
injustice,  and  us  too  much  honor  in  assigning  to  us  too 


284  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

large  a  share  of  the  merits  which  have  led  to  your  high 
advancement.  I  know  you  approve  the  friendship  1 
have  ever  professed  to  you,  and  will  permit  me  to  con- 
tinue, as  heretofore,  to  manifest  it  on  all  proper  occasions. 

You  are  now  Washington's  legitimate  successor,  and 
occupy  a  position  of  almost  dangerous  elevation ;  but, 
if  you  can  continue,  as  heretofore,  to  be  yourself,  sim- 
ple, honest,  and  unpretending,  you  will  enjoy  through 
life  the  respect  and  love  of  friends,  and  the  homage  of 
millions  of  human  beings,  that  will  award  you  a  large 
share  in  securing  to  them  and  their  descendants  a 
government  of  law  and  stability/ 

I  repeat,  you  do  General  McPherson  and  myself 
too  much  honor.  At  Belmont,  you  manifested  your 
traits — neither  of  us  being  near.  At  Donelson,  also, 
you  illustrated  your  whole  character.  I  was  not  near, 
and  General  McPherson  in  too  subordinate  a  capacity 
to  influence  you. 

Until  you  had  won  Donelson,  I  confess  I  was  al- 
most cowed  by  the  terrible  array  of  anarchical  elements 
that  presented  themselves  at  every  point ;  but  that  ad- 
mitted a  ray  of  light  I  have  followed  since.  I  believe 
you  are  as  brave,  patriotic,  and  just,  as  the  great  pro- 
totype Washington — as  unselfish,  kind-hearted,  and 
honest  as  a  man  should  be — but  the  chief  characteristic 
is  the  simple  faith  in  success  you  have  always  manifest- 
ed, which  I  can  liken  to  nothing  else  than  the  faith  a 
Christian  has  in  the  Saviour. 

This  faith  gave  you  victory  at  Shiloh  and  Vicks- 
burg.  Also,  when  you  have  completed  your  best  prep- 
arations, you  go  into  battle  without  hesitation,  as  at 
Chattanooga — no  doubts — no  reserves ;  and  I  tell  you, 
it  was  this  that  made  us  act  with  confidence.  I  knew, 
wherever  I  was,  that  you  thought  of  me,  and  if  I  got 
in  a  tight  place  you  would  help  me  out,  if  alive. 

My  only  point  of  doubt  was,  in  your  knowledge  of 
grand  strategy,  and  of  books  of  science  and  history , 
but,  I  confess,  your  common-sense  seems  to  have  sup- 
plied all  these* 


ANNOYING   ATTENTION.  285 

Now,  as  to  the  future.  Don't  stay  in  "Washington, 
Come  West:  take  to  yourself  the  whole  Mississippi 
Valley.  Let  us  make  it  dead  sure — and  I  tell  you, 
the  Atlantic  slopes  and  Pacific  shores  will  follow  its 
destiny,  as  sure  as  the  limbs  of  a  tree  live  or  die  with 
the  main  trunk.  We  have  done  much,  but  still  much 
remains.  Time,  and  time's  influences,  are  with  us.  We 
could  almost  afford  to  sit  still,  and  let  these  influences 
work. 

Here  lies  the  seat  of  the  coming  empire ;  and  from 
the  West,  when  our  task  is  done,  we  will  make  short 
work  of  Charleston  and  Richmond,  and  the  impover- 
ished coast  of  the  Atlantic. 

Your  sincere  friend, 

W.  T.  SHEKMAN. 

There  is  a  Spartan  simplicity,  combined  with 
the  chivalry  of  knightly  days,  in  this  correspon- 
dence. Amid  the  stern  realities  of  war,  the  ac- 
clamations of  the  people,  and  the  applause  of  the 
great,  what  a  pleasant  side-picture  this  private 
interchange  of  feelings  between  these  two  great 
commanders  makes.  Neither  the  hardening  sights 
of  the  battle-field,  nor  rank,  nor  emoluments,  can 
change  the  inborn  nobleness  of  these  two  hearts ; 
no  pride  on  the  one  hand,  no  envy  on  the  other. 
The  love  of  these  two  heroes  is  grander  than  their 
heroism. 

Grant's  arrival  at  Washington  was  the  signal 
for  the  wildest  demonstrations  of  enthusiasm,  and 
at  the  President's  levee,  he  was  lilted  on  a  sofa  so 
that  all  might  sec  him.  These  exhibitions  an- 
noyed him,  and  lie  sni«l,  "  I  hope  to  get  away 


286  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

from  Washington,  for  I  am  tired  of  this  show 
business." 

The  next  day,  March  9th,  he  was  summoned  to 
a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet.  Taking  his  little  son 
with  him,  who  had  ridden  boldly  by  his  side  all 
through  the  Vicksburg  campaign,  he  entered  the 
room,  and  was  introduced  by  the  President  to  the 
various  members,  who  then  said : 

"  GENERAL  GRANT  :  The  nation's  approbation 
of  what  you  have  already  done,  and  its  reliance 
on  you  for  what  remains  to  do  in  the  existing 
great  struggle,  is  now  presented  with  this  com- 
mission, constituting  you  Lieutenant- General  of 
the  Army  of  the  United  States. 

u  With  this  high  honor  devolves  on  you  a  cor- 
responding responsibility.  As  the  country  herein 
trusts  you,  so,  under  God,  it  will  sustain  you. 

"  I  scarcely  need  add,  that,  with  what  I  here 
speak  for  the  country,  goes  my  own  hearty  per- 
sonal concurrence." 

Grant  read  from  a  paper  the  following  reply : 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  :  I  accept  this  commission 
with  gratitude  for  the  high  honor  conferred.  With 
the  aid  of  the  noble  armies  who  have  fought  on 
so  many  battle-fields  for  our  common  country,  it 
will  be  my  earnest  endeavor  not  to  disappoint 
your  expectations.  I  feel  the  full  weight  of  the 
responsibility  now  devolving  on  me.  I  know 
that,  if  it  is  properly  met,  it  will  be  due  to  these 


LIEUTENANT-GENERAL.  287 

armies ;  and,  above  all,  to  the  favor  of  that  Prov- 
idence which  leads  both  nations  and  men." 

Never  seeking  advancement,  he  made  no  effort 
to  have  his  command  increased ;  yet,  with  a  quiet 
confidence  that  results  from  consciousness  of 
strength,  he  takes  the  increased  responsibility 
which  is  forced  upon  him,  without  the  least  hesi- 
tation. He  neither  presents  claims,  nor  offers 
excuses;  neither  seeks  power,  nor  shrinks  from 
accepting  it. 

A  greater  contrast  can  hardly  be  imagined, 
than  the  condition  he  now  presented  to  that  of  a 
few  years  ago.  Then  an  unknown  ex- captain,  he 
hesitatingly  sought  an  interview  with  McClellan, 
hoping  that  he  might  be  taken  on  his  staff ;  to- 
day, supreme  commander  of  nearly  a  million  cf 
men.  From  complete  obscurity,  he,  in  a  few  short 
years,  had  vaulted  to  one  of  the  most  exalted  re- 
sponsible positions  ever  occupied  by  man.  Under 
no  other  but  a  republican  government  could  such 
a  marvellous  transition  have  occurred.  Still,  he 
had  not  sprung  at  once  by  a  mere  stroke  of  for- 
tune into  that  position.  Although  so  short  a 
period  had  elapsed  since  he  began  his  career,  he 
had  fought  his  way  up  to  it.  Commanding  the 
limited  department  of  Tennessee,  his  victories  had 
caused  an  enlargement  of  the  territory  under  his 
control.  The  wonderful  campaign  of  Vicksburg 
gave  him  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley  as  his  thea- 


288  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

tre  of  action,  and  placed  three  armies  under  his 
control  The  victory  of  Chattanooga  lifted  him 
still  higher,  and  now  half  a  dozen  mighty  ar- 
mies were  subject  to  his  sway.  As  he,  from  this 
exalted  position,  cast  his  eyes  around  him,  what 
a  spectacle  met  his  gaze.  Never  before  had  one 
commander  surveyed  so  vast  a  field  of  operations, 
and  looked  over  such  a  mighty  array,  subject  to 
his  single  control  From  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio 
Grande,  for  five  thousand  miles,  arose  the  smoke 
of  camp-fires,  and  stood  embattled  hosts  awaiting 
his  bidding.  To  aid  him  in  the  gigantic  task  be- 
fore him,  six  hundred  vessels  of  war  lined  the 
rivers  and  darkened  the  coast  for  twenty-five  hun- 
dred miles,  while  four  thousand  cannon  lay  ready 
to  open  at  his  command. 

The  height  of  power  to  which  he  had  so  sud- 
denly attained,  would  have  made  a  less  strong  head 
dizzy.  It,  however,  produced  no  change  in  him. 
Volunteering  no  promises,  indulging  in  no  vain 
glory,  he  quietly  surveys  the  vast  field  before  him 
— speaking  confidently,  but  only  in  subordination 
to  the  Being  who  lifts  up  and  pulls  down  as  He 
pleases. 

The  work  to  be  done  was  plain  enough,  These 
various  and  widely-scattered  armies  must  be  wield- 
ed like  a  single  engine,  and  brought  to  bear  with 
their  united  force  on  the  central,  vital  portion  of 
the  Confederacy,  and  crush  it  to  atoms. 


PREPARATIONS.  289 

The  people  breathed  freer  as  they  saw  their 
favorite  commander  clothed  with  this  more  than 
regal  power.  The  blunders  of  the  Cabinet,  the 
petty,  partisan  interference  of  Congress,  which, 
more  than  the  incapacity  of  the  generals,  had 
caused  every  thing  to  go  amiss,  and  heaped  defeat 
on  the  top  of  defeat,  were  now  done  with.  A 
military  man,  with  the  power  to  grasp,  and  the 
energy  to  carry  out  a  great  plan,  and  embrace  the 
field  of  operations,  was  at  last  at  the  head  of 
the  national  forces,  and  it  was  plain  that  the  day 
of  "  quid  nuncs"  at  Washington  was  over.  The 
mighty  power  of  the  North,  which  had  been  hurled 
hither  and  thither,  with  such  blind  energy,  was  to 
be  held  calmly  in  hand,  and  made  to  move  like 
the  steady,  resistless  tide  of  the  ocean,  on  the 
audacious  Confederacy,  which  had  for  so  many 
years  lifted  itself  on  the  fragments  of  the  Union. 

Under  him  was  a  group  of  lieutenants  worthy 
of  their  great  leader.  Sherman,  Thomas,  Hooker, 
Howard,  Hancock,  Sedgwick,  Slocum,  and  others, 
had  no  peers  in  ability  and  military  science. 

As  it  was  fit,  Sherman  was  placed  over  the 
Mississippi  division,  which  Grant's  elevation  had 
vacated. 

While  the  latter  was  maturing  his  plans,  he 

quietly  began  to  gather  the  materials  necessary  to 

carry   them   out     Railways  groaned  under  the 

weight  of  soldiers  returning  to  their  regiments, 

13 


290  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

the  rivers  were  black  with  transports  bearing 
ordnance  and  supplies,  and  the  entire  North 
trembled  under  the  mighty  preparations  going 
forward. 

One  of  Grant's  first  acts  after  his  appointment 
as  Lieutenant-General,  was  to  hurry  to  some  con- 
clusion the  ill-starred  expedition  of  Banks,  already 
started  for  the  Red  River.  This  was  none  of  his 
work,  but  the  result  of  the  combined  brilliant 
strategy  of  Halleck  and  Stanton.  Hence,  he, 
only  a  few  days  after  he  had  come  into  power, 
sent  a  despatch  to  Banks  to  advance  at  once  to 
the  point  he  was  aiming  to  reach — Shreveport — 
but "  if  he  found  that  the  taking  of  it  would  occupy 
from  ten  to  fifteen  days — more  time  than  General 
Sherman  had  given  to  his  troops  to  be  absent  from 
their  command,  he  would  send  them  back  at  the 
time  specified  by  General  Sherman,  even  if  it  led 
to  tlie  abandonment  of  the  main  object  of  the 
Red  River  expedition,  for  this  force  was  necessary 
to  movements  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  that,  should 
his  expedition  prove  successful,  he  would  hold 
Shreveport  and  the  Red  River,  with  such  force 
as  he  might  deem  necessary,  and  return  the  bal- 
ance of  his  troops  to  the  neighborhood  of  New 
Orleans,  commencing  no  move  for  the  further 
acquisition  of  territory,  unless  it  was  to  make 
that  then  held  by  him  more  easily  held ;  that  it 
might  be  a  part  of  the  Spring  campaign  to  move 


INSTRUCTIONS   TO   BANKS.  291 

against  Mobile;  that  it  certainly  would  be,  if 
troops  enough  could  be  obtained  to  make  it  with- 
out embarrassing  other  movements — that  New 
Orleans,  would  be  the  point  of  departure  for  such 
an  expedition."  Finally,  he  directed  him  to  move 
as  quickly  as  possible.  He  wanted  the  blunder 
consummated  speedily,  that  it  might  not  entangle 
and  embarrass  him  in  the  great  movements  he  con- 
templated. Halleck's  system  of  operations,  which 
was  to  kill  the  monster  by  cutting  off  his  tail  and 
claws,  and  so  work  up  to  the  vital  part,  was  over 
forever ;  and  the  coming  contest  was  to  be  a  death- 
grapple — a  last  interlocking  between  the  colossal 
power  of  the  North  and  the  desperate  South,  from 
which  only  one  should  arise. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  way  to  a  stable  Peace — Grant  on  the  Erroneous  Manner  in 
which  the  War  had  been  carried  on — The  right  Plan  of  Action — 
View  of  the  Condition — Forces  in  the  Field — Sketch  of  Grant's 
Plan  of  Campaign — Instructions  to  Sherman — Instructions  to 
Butler — To  Meade — Army  of  the  Potomac — Its  Route  decided 
upon — Movement  delayed  by  muddy  Roads — Strange  Confi- 
dence of  the  South — Not  shared  by  Lee,  who  orders  a  day 
of  Humiliation  and  Prayer — His  Preparations — Numerical 
Strength  of  the  two  Armies. 

As  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  Grant  had  no 
faith  in  the  various  theories  propounded  for 
bringing  the  rebellion  to  a  close.  Troubled  with 
no  visionary  schemes,  he  with  his  strong  common- 
sense,  took  a  practical  view  of  the  war,  and  said 
that  he  "was  firm  in  the  conviction  that  no  peace 
could  be  had  that  would  be  stable  and  conducive 
to  the  happiness  of  the  people  both  North  and 
South  until  the  military  power  of  the  rebellion 
was  entirely  broken,11  i.  e.,  the  only  road  to  peace 
lay  over  prostrate  armies. 

This  fact  being  established  in  his  mind,  the 
next  step  was  to  decide  in  what  way  the  war 
should  be  carried  on.  First,  he  said  that  active 
and  continuous  operations  of  all  the  troops 
that  could  be  brought  into  the  field,  regard- 


PRACTICAL  VIEWS.  293 

less  of  season  and  weather,  were  indispensable ; 
for  though  our  numerical  strength  was  far  supe- 
rior to  that  of  the  enemy,  yet  we  had  such  a  vast 
territory  to  garrison  as  we  advanced,  and  such 
long  lines  of  communication — the  greater  our 
success  the  longer — to  protect,  that  it  cut  down 
sadly  the  actual  number  of  troops  that  could  be 
brought  into  the  field.  But  this  was  not  all,  he 
said  ;  "the  armies  in  the  East  and  West  acted  in- 
dependently and  without  concert,  like  a  balky  team, 
no  two  ever  pulling  together,  enabling  the  enemy 
to  use  to  great  advantage  his  interior  lines  of 
communication  for  transporting  troops  from  east 
to  west,  reinforcing  the  army  most  vigorously 
pressed ;  and  to  furlough  large  numbers  during 
seasons  of  inactivity  on  our  part,  to  go  to  their 
homes  and  do  the  work  of  providing  for  the  sup- 
port of  their  armies."  This  shifting  men  from  east 
to  west,  and  vice  versa,  as  pressed  in  turn  by  our 
armies,  and  then,  during  our  intervals  of  rest,  while 
raising  new  levies,  sending  home  the  soldiers  to 
cultivate  the  neglected  fields,  although  requiring 
great  activity,  effected  the  same  purpose  as  in- 
crease of  numbers,  so  that  Grant  said  "  it  was  a 
question  whether  our  numerical  strength  and  re- 
sources were  not  more  than  balanced  by  these 
disadvantages  and  the  enemy's  superior  posi- 
tion.11 

Such  being  his  views  as  he  surveyed  the  vast 


294  LIFE   09   GRANT. 

field  of  operations,  it  was  a  matter  of  course  that  lie 
should  at  the  outset  endeavor  "  to  bring  the  great- 
est number  of  troops  practicable  against  the  armed 
force  of  the  enemy,  and  prevent  him  from  using  the 
same  force  at  different  seasons  against  first  one 
and  then  another  of  our  armies,  and  the  possibil- 
ity of  repose  for  refitting  and  producing  necessary 
supplies  for  carrying  on  resistance."  In  other 
words,  his  plan  was  to  confront  all  the  armies  of 
the  enemy  with  superior  ones  at  the  same  time, 
compelling  each  to  stand  and  fight  alone.  More- 
over, never  to  leave  his  presence  winter  or  sum- 
mer, so  that  his  conscriptions  that  exhausted  the 
country  should  keep  it  exhausted.  In  the  second 
place,  with  our  greater  power,  "  to  hammer  contin- 
uously against  the  armed  force  of  the  enemy  and 
his  resources,  until  by  mere  attrition  of  the  lesser 
with  the  larger  body,  the  former  should  be  worn 
out." 

It  is  plain  to  see  that  with  such  a  mind  govern- 
ing the  campaign  there  would  be  fighting — fierce, 
incessant,  deadly,  till  one  or  the  other  army  was 
destroyed. 

With  these  clear,  simple,  and  comprehensive 
views  and  plans,  there  remained  only  one  more 
thing  to  settle — the  time  and  manner  of  bringing 
the  armies  into  the  field. 

Although  almost  all  of  Arkansas,  Louisana, 
and  Texas  was  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy 


HIS   PLAN.  295 

with  probably  eighty  thousand  rebel  troops  scat- 
tered through  them,  yet  the  Mississippi  and  Ar- 
kansas rivers  were  so  strongly  garrisoned  that  but 
little  trouble  was  to  be  feared  from  them,  unless 
expeditions  were  sent  into  the  interior.  East  of 
the  Mississippi  we  held  down  to  the  State  of 
Georgia,  and  enough  of  that  near  Chattanooga  to 
protect  East  Tennessee.  Detached  forces  also  were 
scattered  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  We  had,  be- 
sides, three  large  armies  in  the  field — that  of  Banks 
up  the  Red  River  ;  of  Sherman  at  Chattanooga ; 
and  Meade  in  Virginia.  The  proper  plan,  there- 
fore,' in  accordance  with  Grant's  general  views, 
would  have  been  to  move  these  three  armies  on 
three  vital  points  simultaneously,  and  which  were 
clearly  indicated  by  the  position  of  affairs  to  be 
Richmond,  Atlanta,  and  Mobile.  Charleston  had 
been  abandoned,  as  a  probable  base  of  operations, 
but  Mobile,  with  its  river  piercing  inland  north, 
might  be  taken,  and  furnish  a  better  one.  Es- 
pecially if  Atlanta  was  reached — the  converging 
point  of  the  railroads  traversing  the  Southern  tier 
of  States — the  occupation  of  these  two  places  would 
ensure  the  overthrow  of  this  entire  portion  of  the 
Southern  confederacy.  But  it  soon  became  evident 
that  the  army  of  Banks  could  not  be  used  against 
Mobile  for  some  time  yet,  and  it  was  therefore 
left  out  of  the  main  plan,  and  Atlanta  and  Rich- 
mond became  the  two  great  objective  points  of 


296  tOT3   OF   GRANT. 

the  campaign,  and  the  two  armies  of  Lee  and 
Johnston — one  on  the  Rapidan,  and  the  other  at 
Dalton,  were  to  be  assailed  with  all  the  strength 
and  determination  in  his  power.  It  is  true  there 
were  guerilla  bands  to  be  guarded  against,  and  a 
large  cavalry  force  in  Mississippi,  and  troops  in 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  be  looked  after.  But 
these  were  of  minor  consequence,  and  Grant  re- 
solved that  the  main  rebel  armies  should  be 
pressed  so  vigorously  that  their  leaders  would  find 
it  necessary  to  call  in  these  detached  roving  bodies 
instead  of  augmenting  their  force. 

His  confidence  in  Sherman  made  it  unnecessary 
to  give  him  any  but  general  directions.  He  was 
to  push  on  to  Atlanta,  break  up  Johnston's  army, 
and  advance  as  far  into  the  interior  as  he  could. 
They  had  talked  over  the  campaign  together,  and 
its  main  features  were  perfectly  understood  by  the 
latter.  One  thing  was  of  vital  importance,  that 
neither  rebel  army  should  be  allowed  to  join  the 
other,  and  thus  give  to  one  a  sudden  preponder- 
ance which  might  prove  fatal  to  the  Union  army  on 
which  this  concentrated  force  might  fall.  Grant, 
therefore,  in  his  last  written  instructions  to  Sher- 
man impressed  this  upon  him,  telling  him  that  if 
Johnston  showed  any  signs  of  joining  Lee,  to  fol- 
low him  up  at  all  hazards,  and  hang  like  a  sleuth- 
hound  on  his  track,  while  he  promised  that 
nothing  short  of  impossibility  should  prevent  him 


HIS   FINAL   DIBECTIOira.  297 

from  holding  Lee  so  firmly  that  he  could  not  suc- 
cor Johnston.  To  Meade,  the  immediate  com- 
mander of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  his  directions 
were,  "  wherever  Lee  goes,  go  after  him." 

In  operating  against  Lee  and  Richmond,  Grant 
found  it  impossible  to  concentrate  all  the  forces 
he  designed  to  use.  He  could  not  join  Butler 
at  Fortress  Monroe,  because  he  would  thus  un- 
cover Washington ;  neither  could  he  allow  Butler 
to  join  him,  for  that  would  uncover  the  depart- 
ment of  the  latter ;  and  he  therefore  determined  on 
a  double  movement  toward  a  common  centre. 
Butler,  with  his  force  swelled  to  some  thirty  thou- 
sand men,  was  to  move  against  Richmond  from 
the  south,  while  the  army  of  the  Potomac  fell  upon 
Lee  along  the  Rapidan.  Grant's  directions  to 
him  were,  the  moment  he  received  notice  to  start, 
to  take  City  Point  at  once,  and  intrench  himself 
there.  Richmond,  he  was  told  to  remember,  was 
his  objective  point,  and  that  he  must  hold  close  to 
the  south  bank  of  James  River  as  he  advanced. 
When  the  rebel  army  should  be  driven  into  the 
intrenchments  of  the  capital,  then  their  two  armies 
could  unite  and  become  a  unit.  If  Butler  could 
swing  around  Richmond  to  the  south  far  enough 
to  have  his  left  wing  touch  the  James  River  to  the 
west,  Grant  said  he  would  form  a  junction  there. 
This  would  completely  cut  Lee  oif  from  his  sup- 
plies, and  coop  him  up  in  his  capital.  If  he  could 
la* 


298  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

capture  Richmond,  from  which  he  knew  Lee  had 
been  compelled  to  draw  a  great  part  of  the  garri- 
son, to  do  so — at  all  events  plant  himself  as  far  up 
the  south  bank  of  the  James  as  he  could.  The 
minor  details  he  left  to  himself.  It  will  be  seen 
by  these  instructions  that  Grant  laid  great  stress 
on  the  success  of  Butler's  movements  ;  and  whether 
from  want  of  confidence  in  the  latter's  ability  or 
from  anxiety  to  impress  on  him  his  duty,  he  says, 
"  I  visited  him  at  Fort  Monroe,  and  in  conversa- 
tion, pointed  out  the  apparent  importance  of  getting 
possession  of  Petersburg,  and  destroying  railroad 
communications  as  far  south  as  possible.  Believ- 
ing, however,  in  the  practicability  of  capturing 
Richmond,  unless  it  was  reinforced,  I  made  that 
the  objective  point  of  his  operations.  If  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  was  to  move  simultaneously  with 
him,  Lee  could  not  detach  from  his  army  with 
safety,  and  the  enemy  did  not  have  troops  else- 
where to  bring  to  the  defence  of  the  city  in  time 
to  meet  a  rapid  movement  from  the  north  of 
James  River.1' 

With  regard  to  the  movements  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  he  said,  two  plans  presented  them- 
selves:— one  to  cross  the  Rapidan  below  Lee, 
moving  by  his  right  flank ;  the  other  moving  by 
his  left.  Each  presented  advantages  over  the 
other  with  corresponding  objections.  By  crossing 
above,  Lee  would  be  cut  off  from  all  chance  of 


THE   ARMY   WEATHER-BOUND. 

ignoring  Richmond  or  going  north  on  a  raid.  But, 
he  said,  "  if  we  took  this  route,  all  we  did  would 
have  to  be  done  while  the  rations  we  started  with 
held  out;  beside0,  it  separated  us  from  Butler,  so 
that  he  could  not  be  directed  how  to  cooperate.  If 
we  took  the  other  route,  Brandy  Station  could  be 
used  as  a  base  of  supplies  until  another  was  secured 
on  the  York  or  James  rivers."  Of  these,  however,  it 
was  decided  to  take  the  lower  route.  This  being 
the  case,  it  was  necessary  to  guard  the  Shenan- 
doah  Valley,  which  by  this  movement  would  be 
left  uncovered,  and  the  borders  of  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania  exposed  to  invasion.  To  prevent 
this.  General  Sigel  was  placed  here  with  a  strong 
force  under  his  command.  This  was  the  outline 
of  the  great  overland  campaign,  on  the  success  or 
failure  of  which  was  to  depend  the  establishment 
or  overthrow  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

Grant  had  determined  to  move  with  the  open- 
ing of  spring,  but  it  passed  away,  and  the  army 
remained  quiet.  The  public  wondered,  and  the 
spell  which  had  so  often  held  motionless  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  seemed  unbroken.  The  old  ex- 
cuse, that  it  was  stuck  in  the  mud,  did  not  satisfy 
the  people.  Such  was,  nevertheless,  the  fact  The 
impassable  roads  of  Virginia,  in  the  rainy  season, 
are  no  myth.  This  excuse  had  been  often  ridi- 
culed, yet  it  was  still  a  valid  one,  and,  though  Grant 
knew  the  public  was  impatient,  he  knew  also  that 


300  LIFE   OF   GEANT. 

he  might  as  well  attempt  to  move  that  mighty 
army,  with  all  its  artillery  trains,  and  material  of 
war,  through  a  mortar-bed,  as  along  those  clay 
roads,  until  they  were  dried  up.  The  people  won- 
dered, but  there  was  at  last  nothing  left  them  but 
patience.  As,  however,  the  weather  brightened, 
and  the  ground  became  hardened,  Grant  gave  the 
signal,  which  was  waited  for  from  the  Tennessee 
to  the  James  rivers,  and  three  armies  arose  as 
one  man  and  moved  forward. 

More  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  men  com- 
posed this  force,  to  oppose  which  the  rebel  gov- 
ernment could  not  bring  into  the  field  half  that 
number.  Yet,  singular  as  it  may  seem,  the  same 
belief  was  as  prevalent  South,  that  the  coming 
campaign  would  end  in  their  triumph,  as  hi  the 
North,  that  its  close  would  witness  their  over- 
throw. It  was  natural,  from  the  vastness  of  the 
preparations  on  our  side,  that  we  should  feel  con- 
fident of  success ;  but  no  such  increase  of  force 
furnished  ground  for  hope  in  the  South.  In  fact, 
Lee's  army,  their  chief  reliance,  was  not  much 
more  than  half  as  large  as  it  was  when  he  invaded 
Pennsylvania,  while  (Grant's  was  nearly  double  to 
that  of  Meade's,  which  opposed  it 

Lee,  however,  did  not  share  in  these  fond  an- 
ticipations. He  knew  how  mighty  was  the  force 
he  was  about  to  meet,  which  uncounted  thousands 
stood  ready  to  back,  while  he  could  look  nowhere 


STRENGTH   OF  THE    AHMIES.  301 

for  reinforcements  to  his  diminished  army.  As 
a  last  resort,  he  looked  to  heaven  for  aid,  and 
issued  a  general  order  directing  that  "a  day  of 
humiliation,  fasting,  and  prayer"  be  observed 
throughout  the  army  Public  services  were  held 
by  the  chaplains  in  the  various  regiments,  and 
great  solemnity  and  deep  feeling  were  exhibited. 
In  the  meantime  he  strengthened  his  position  by 
intrenching  his  lines,  and  digging  rifle-pits  at  the 
fords  of  the  Rapidan,  and  left  nothing  undone 
which  could  aid  him  to  meet  the  terrible  shock  he 
so  well  knew  awaited  him. 

Apparently  the  odds  were  fearfully  against  him, 
for  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  with  the  ninth 
corps  under  Burnside  to  support  it,  made  a 
movable  column  of  about  140,000  men,  while 
Lee  had,  all  told,  but  little  over  54,000.  With 
such  numerical  superiority,  Grant  was  confident 
of  success  if  he  could  get  Lee  from  behind  his 
works,  and  force  him  into  a  field  fight  But,  if 
he  was  always  to  be  the  attacking  party  and  fight 
the  enemy  in  his  intrenchments,  he  needed  60,000 
more  men  to  be  on  an  equality  with  his  adversary. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE     OVERLAND     MARCH. 

The  March  begun — The  Kapidan  crossed — Lee's  Flank  turned- 
He  determines  to  attack  Grant  in  the  Wilderness — A  sagacioui 
Move — First  Day's  Battle  of  the  Wilderness — Arrival  of  Long- 
street  and  Burnside — Swift  Marching — Second  Day's  Battle — 
Third  Day — Headquarters — Grant  attempts  to  move  around 
Lee's  Left  to  Spottsylvania — The  Night-March — The  Enemy 
arrive  first, — Grand  Assault  of  the  Enemy's  Works — Gallant 
Charge  of  Hancock — A  Lull — A  third  Attempt  to  get  between 
Lee  and  Richmond — It  Fails — Last  Effort  to  reach  Richmond 
from  the  North— Battle  of  Cold  Harbor — Change  of  Base  to 
the  James  River — Attempt  to  capture  Petersburg. 

LEE'S  army  stretched  for  many  miles  along  the 
Rapidan  river,  and  held  all  the  crossings  in  such 
force  that,  as  before  stated,  Grant,  encamped  at 
Culpepper,  determined  to  swing  his  army  off  to 
the  left,  and  cross  it  on  the  enemy's  right  flank, 
and  thus  compel  Lee  to  come  out  of  his  works,  or 
be  cut  off  from  Richmond.  On  the  morning  of 
the  4th  of  May  the  mighty  host  was  set  in  motion, 
and  along  every  road,  and  across  open  fields, 
spreading  over  a  vast  extent  of  country,  the  succes- 
sive divisions  swept  forward.  Sheridan,  with  the 
cavalry,  and  an  enormous  train,  composed  of  four 
thousand  wagons,  moved  in  advance,  and  reach- 
ing one  of  the  fords,  hurried  across,  meeting  with 


THE   RAPID  AN    CROSSED.  303 

i 

but  little  opposition.  Column  following  column 
in  seeming  endless  succession,  pressed  after  him 
and  gained  the  opposite  bank.  The  army  crossed 
at  two  fords,  Ely's  and  Germania,  some  five  or  six 
miles  apart.  It  was  divided  into  three  corps — 
the  Second,  commanded  by  Hancock,  the  Fifth, 
by  Warren,  and  the  Sixth,  by  Sedgwick.  Han- 
cock, in  front,  crossed  at  Ely's  ford,  followed  by 
Warren,  while  Sedgwick  crossed  at  Germania, 
forming  the  right.  By  night  it  was  all  over, 
having  marched  twelve  miles. 

Thus  the  first  great  step  was  successfully  taken. 
Crossing  a  river  at  different  points,  with  such  an 
immense  train,  in  the  presence  of  a  skillful  enemy, 
was  a  hazardous  movement ;  and  the  fact  that  it 
had  been  accomplished  without  loss,  relieved  Grant 
from  great  anxiety ;  for  though  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  force  a  passage  where  an  immense  wil- 
derness stretched  away  from  the  shore,  yet  a  bat- 
tle had  not  been  forced  on  him  while  in  marching 
order,  or  struggling  across  the  river.  Still,  he  had 
not  outwitted  his  wary  adversary.  He  had  no 
idea  of  having  a  battle  thrown  upon  him  in  this 
frightful  wilderness,  and  therefore  issued  his 
orders  for  the  march  next  morning  which  he 
expected  would  take  him  beyond  it,  towards 
Gordonsville,  where  he  would  be  between  the 
rebel  army  and  Richmond.  A  few  hours  would 
have  sufficed  to  do  this.  But  Lee,  who  did 


304  LIFE   O¥  GRANT. 

not  know  whether  Grant  would  cross  above  or 
below  him,  kept  a  corps  of  observation  in  both 
directions,  while  he  held  his  army  like  a  hound 
in  the  leash.  The  moment  he  found  that  Grant 
had  left  his  front  and  effected  a  passage  of  the 
stream  below  him,  he  put  his  army  in  motion 
for  the  purpose  of  attacking  him  while  entangled 
in  the  wilderness.  This  was  a  bold,  sagacious 
movement,  and  came  very  near  being  successful. 
Instead  of  falling  back  when  he  saw  his  flank 
turned,  he  resolved  to  break  into  a  sudden 
and  furious  offensive.  As  Bonaparte,  when  he 
found  himself  outnumbered,  two  to  one,  by  the 
Austrians,  suddenly  planted  his  little  army  on 
two  causeways  in  the  marshes  of  Arcola,  where 
numbers  gave  but  little  advantage,  and  every  thing 
depended  on  the  comparative  strength  of  the 
heads  of  columns,  so  Lee  resolved  to  bring  on  the 
battle  in  this  wilderness,  crossed  only  by  few 
roads,  in  which  the  heaviest  shocks  must  necessa- 
rily occur,  and  shut  Grant's  vast  army  up  in  the 
dense  woods,  where  massive  columns  had  little 
weight — the  cavalry  be  totally  useless,  and  his 
preponderance  of  artillery  of  no  avail.  From 
Orange  Court  House,  the  centre  of  Lee's  position, 
two  parallel  roads,  a  little  distance  apart,  cross 
this  dreary  waste,  which  cut  Grant's  line  of 
march  at  right  angles.  Down  these  Lee  deter- 
mined to  hurl  his  columns,  and  strike  the  army  in 


LEE    PLANS   AN    ATTACK  ON   GRANT.  805 

flank  while  struggling  through  the  thick  chappa- 
ral.  He  knew  this  desolate  tract  well,  and  how  to 
avail  himself  of  the  advantages  it  gave  him,  while 
to  Grant  it  was  an  unknown  wilderness. 

Lee,  in  carrying  out  his  plan,  hurried  off  Hill 
and  Ewell,  one  by  the  turnpike  and  the  other  by 
the  plank  road,  and  at  the  same  time  sent  a  dis- 
patch to  Longstreet,  twenty-five  miles  distant  at 
Gordons ville,  to  move  up  and  strike  the  heads  of 
our  columns  with  his  corps,  while  the  former 
generals  fell  on  them  in  flank.  He  was  made 
aware  of  Grant's  movements  and  designs  so  early 
that  the  two  corps  he  sent  off  down  these  roads 
encamped  in  the  wilderness  the  same  night  that 
Grant  did,  and  were  ready  to  fall  upon  him  at 
daylight  in  the  morning. 

Johnson's  division,  forming  the  advance  of 
E well's  corps,  was  stationed  where  the  road  down 
which  it  had  come,  intersected  that  along  which 
the  Fifth  Corps,  under  Warren,  was  advancing 
early  next  day  with  its  lines  extending  on  either 
side  into  the  forest. 

Two  pieces  of  artillery  went  thundering  along 
the  road  in  advance,  and  coming  within  range  of 
Johnson,  unlimbered,  and  poured  in  a  rapid  fire. 
The  infantry  pressed  on,  receiving,  as  they  ad- 
vanced, a  terrible  volley  without  the  least  sign 
of  wavering,  till  they  got  within  close  range, 
when  with  a  clang  a  whole  forest  of  weapons 


306  LIFE   OF   GKANT. 

came  to  a  level,  and  a  sheet  of  fire  swept 
through  the  green  forest.  Before  it  the  hostile 
line  gave  way  for  a  brief  space ;  but  reinforce- 
ments coming  up,  the  troops  rallied  and  charged 
with  such  fury  that  they  carried  every  thing 
before  them,  and  captured  the  two  guns.  Press- 
ing up  their  advantage,  they  drove  our  advance 
back  for  a  mile.  In  the  meantime  Sedgwick, 
with  the  Sixth  Corps,  came  sweeping  through 
the  forest  on  the  left,  and  a  sanguinary  struggle 
took  place  in  his  front,  and  for  miles  the  woods 
echoed  with  the  roar  of  musketry.  Artillery  was 
almost  entirely  useless,  except  along  the  narrow 
roads,  and  the  strange  spectacle  of  mighty  armies 
contending  in  a  tangled  forest,  where  no  regular 
formations  could  be  maintained,  or  strategic  move- 
ment made,  was  witnessed.  Grant  hnrried  up  his 
divisions  fast  as  he  could  amid  the  trees  and 
stunted  pine  bushes  ;  and  with  Meade  rode  on  to 
the  Old  Wilderness  tavern.  Up  to  this  time  he 
did  not  believe  that  he  had  Lee's  army  in  front, 
but  thought  it  a  small  force  sent  out  to  deceive  him 
while  the  main  army  effected  its  retreat.  It  did 
not  occur  to  him  that  the  Confederate  commander, 
when  he  found  his  defensive  line  turned,  would, 
instead  of  falling  back  to  a  secure  position,  boldly 
cut  loose  and  swing  his  entire  army  down  upon 
him  arid  offer  battle.  But  as  he  stood  by  the 
solitary  building,  he  soon  discovered,  by  the  steadi- 


WEST  DAY'S  BATTLE.  307 

ly  increasing  uproar,  that  the  enemy  was  upon 
him,  and  there  in  that  gloomy  Wilderness  he  must 
grapple  with  him  as  he  best  could.  He  therefore 
at  once  recalled  the  order  of  march,  and  prepared 
for  battle.  Hancock  at  this  crisis  was  ten  miles 
distant,  down  the  river,  and  swift  riders  were  im- 
mediately despatched  to  him  to  close  up  quickly  as 
possible.  In  the  meantime  the  battle  deepened, 
and  at  length,  when  Hancock  arrived,  it  swelled 
into  its  grandest  proportions.  He  and  Warren 
however  were,  in  fact,  separate  armies,  fighting 
separate  armies,  and  all  day  long  had  but  little 
connection  with  each  other.  Grant  at  the  Old 
Wilderness  tavern  listened  to  the  uproar,  receiv- 
ing ever  and  anon  reports  from  his  army,  which 
was  so  shut  up  in  the  forest  that  no  portion  of  it 
could  be  seen.  No  wind  was  stirring,  and  the 
smoke  settled  amid  the  foliage,  while  from  out 
the  bosom  of  the  dense  woods  arose  cries  and  yells 
and  shouts  and  rolling  volleys,  in  wild  and  horrid 
discord.  "  Back  in  a  ceaseless  flow  from  the  line 
that  marks  this  fierce  struggle  the  wounded  and 
maimed  are  borne  on  blankets  and  litters,  telling 
by  their  numbers  the  deadly  work  going  on  in 
advance." 

All  day  long  this  mad  strife  went  on,  and  when 
night  closed  over  the  forest  and  ended  it,  Grant 
found  himself  near  the  very  spot  from  which  in 
the  morning  he  had  started.  His  advance  divis- 


808  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

ions  had  been  driven  back,  his  loss  had  beer, 
heavy,  and  nothing  gained.  "The  woods  of  the 
Wilderness  have  not  the  ordinary  features  of  a 
forest.  The  region  rests  on  a  belt  of  mineral 
rocks,  and  for  above  a  hundred  years  extensive 
mining  has  been  carried  on.  To  feed  the  mines, 
the  timber  of  the  country  for  many  miles  around 
had  been  cut  down,  and  in  the  place  there  had 
arisen  a  dense  undergrowth  of  low-limbel  and 
scraggy  pines,  stiff  and  bristling  chinkapins, 
scrub  oaks,  and  hazeL  It  is  a  region  of  gloom 
and  the  shadow  of  death.  Maneuvering  here 
was  out  of  the  question,  and  only  Indian  tactics 
told.  The  troops  could  only  receive  direction  by 
a  point  of  the  compass ;  for  not  only  were  the  lines 
of  battle  entirely  hidden  from  the  sight  of  the 
commander,  but  no  officer  could  see  ten  files  on 
each  side  of  him.  Artillery  was  wholly  ruled  out 
of  use,  the  massive  concentration  of  three  hun- 
dred guns  stood  silent.  .  .  Cavalry  was  still  more 
useless.  But  in  that  horrid  thicket  there  lurked 
two  hundred  thousand  men,  and  through  it  lurid 
fires  played ;  and  though  no  array  of  battle  could 
be  seen,  there  came  out  of  it  the  crackle  and  roll 
of  musketry,  like  the  noisy  boiling  of  some  hell- 
caldron,  that  told  the  dread  story  of  death.  Such 
was  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness."  *  Still  Grant 
had  no  thought  of  retreating ;  on  the  contrary, 

*  Swintou'a  Army  of  the  Potomac. 


ABBIVAL   OF   LONGSTEEET,  309 

he  issued  orders  to  have  the  attack  renewed  at 
sunrise  next  morning. 

In  the  meantime  Longstreet  was  pressing  on 
through  the  darkness,  and"  his  advance  reached 
the  battle-field  just  as  Grant  moved  again  to  the 
attack.  It  was  not  yet  fully  deployed  into  line 
when  the  onset  came.  With  such  fury  was  it 
made,  and  so  desperately  did  Grant  push  the  at- 
tack at  this  point,  that  Longstreet  was  born  swift- 
ly back,  till  his  disordered  ranks  almost  reached 
the  spot  where  Lee  stood. 

Longstreet  knew  what  fearful  results  depended 
on  his  checking  our  victorious  troops,  and  put 
forth  superhuman  efforts  to  stem  the  flood,  but 
was  soon  borne  bleeding  from  the  field.  Lee,  now 
thoroughly  alarmed  as  he  saw  our  line  sweeping 
resistlessly  down  upon  his  imperilled  right,  rode 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  brigade  of  Texans,  and 
ordered  them  to  follow,  intending  to  lead  the 
charge  in  person.  But  instead  of  shouts  at  his 
gallant  devotion,  there  arose  one  loud  remon- 
strance against  the  act,  and  he  had  to  retire,  while 
the  whole  division,  animated  by  his  example, 
drove  so  furiously  on  our  advancing  columns  that 
they  were  forced  back,  losing  the  ground  they 
had  so  nobly  won. 

To  meet  just  such  a  possible  exigency  as  this, 
Grant,  the  very  afternoon  on  which  he  crossed 
the  liapidan,  sent  back  to  Burnside — who,  with 


310  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

the  Ninth  Corps,  was  still  at  the  crossing  of  lie 
Rappahannock  Biver  and  Alexandria  Railroad, 
guarding  the  railroad  back  to  Bull  Run — to  hurry 
forward.  The  latter  immediately  put  his  army  in 
motion,  and,  though  in  his  march  two  rivers  had 
to  be  crossed  and  more  than  thirty  miles  of  bro- 
ken country  traversed,  he  at  this  opportune  mo- 
ment led  his  tired  columns  on  to  the  field.  He 
had  wasted  no  time,  and,  as  Grant  said,  "Con- 
sidering that  a  large  proportion,  probably  two 
thirds,  of  his  command  was  composed  of  raw 
troops,  unaccustomed  to  marches  and  carrying 
the  accoutrements  of  a  soldier,  this  was  a  remark- 
able march."  It  was  remarkable,  and  must  have 
been  even  wonderful  to  draw  such  a  compliment 
from  Grant,  who  had  thoroughly  tested  the  march- 
ing powers  and  endurance  of  troops. 

Thus  reinforced,  both  armies  continued  the 
work  of  slaughter,  and  all  day  the  battle  roared 
for  seven  miles  through  that  forest.  "  There,  in 
the  depths  of  those  ravines,  under  the  shadows  of 
those  trees,  entangled  in  that  brushwood,  is  no 
pomp  of  war,  no  fluttering  of  banners  in  an  un- 
hindered breeze,  no  solid  tramp  of  marching  bat- 
talions, no  splendid  strategy  of  the  field  Napoleon 
loved  to  fight  on.  There  a  Saturnalia,  gloomy, 
hideous,  desperate,  rages  confined.  The  metallic, 
hollow  crack  of  musketry  is  like  the  clanking  of 
great  chains  about  the  damned — that  sullen  yell  of 


SECOND  DAY'S  BATTLE.  311 

the  enemy,  a  fiendish  protest  of  defiance.  How  the 
hours  lag!  How  each  minute  is  freighted  with  a 
burden  that  the  days  would  have  groaned  to  bear 
in  other  times.  Still  the  sad,  shuddering  proces- 
sion, emerging  out  of  the  smoke,  and  tumult,  and 
passion,  and  passing  on  ;  still  the  appealing  eyes, 
clenched  hands,  and  quivering  limbs  of  human  crea- 
tures, worse  than  helpless,  whose  fighting  is  over.'1 
Thus  wore  on  this  terrible  day — the  opposing  lines 
swaying  backward  and  forward  amid  the  forest, 
as  now  one  and  now  the  other  advanced  or  was 
forced  back.  Since  the  first  great  success  in  the 
morning,  there  had  been  no  crisis  in  the  battle — it 
was  simply  a  long,  tiresome  slaughter,  and  when 
night  came,  the  two  armies  occupied  nearly  the 
same  ground  they  had  in  the  morning.  Lee's 
flank  was  not  yet  turned,  and  to  all  appearances 
Grant  was  checkmated  here  at  the  outset.  It 
was  evident  that  this  kind  of  fighting  could  not 
last  much  longer,  for  there  is  a  limit  to  human 
endurance.  For  two  days,  now,  the  troops  had 
been  constantly  under  arms,  and  most  of  the  time 
fighting,  many  having  hardly  tasted  food  the 
whole  tima 

Thus  far  Lee  had  not  remained  behind  his 
works,  but  acted  steadily  on  the  offensive  whenever 
he  could ;  but  now,  crippled  and  exhausted,  he 
took  refuge  in  them.  Grant,  on  reconnoitering 
early  the  next  more  ing,  ascertained  this,  and  feel- 


312  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

ing  that  it  would  be  asking  too  much  of  his  jaded 
troops  to  require  them  to  carry  these  intrench- 
inents  by  storm,  resolved,  by  a  sudden  march  to 
the  left,  to  get  around  Lee  at  Spottsylvania.  But 
little  fighting  occurred  during  the  day,  for  the 
troops  on  both  sides  were  completely  worn  out. 
In  fact,  Grant  found  the  soldiers  too  exhausted  to 
make  the  contemplated  march,  and  gave  them  till 
night  to  rest ;  and  for  miles  and  miles  the  forest 
was  black  with  prostrate  sleeping  forms.  Even 
Grant,  with  all  his  endurance,  was  glad  of  a  little 
repose,  and  throwing  himself  down  on  the  ground, 
was  soon  wrapped  in  slumber.  An  eye-witness 
thus  draws  a  picture  of  headquarters  this  after- 
noon: "The  lieutenant-general  here,  at  the  foot 
of  a  tree,  one  leg  of  his  trowsers  slipped  above  his 
boots,  his  hands  limp,  his  coat  in  confusion,  his 
sword  equipments  sprawling  on  the  ground ;  not 
even  the  weight  of  sleep  erasing  that  persistent 
expression  of  the  lip  which  held  a  constant  prom- 
ise of  something  to  be  done.  And  there,  at  the 
foot  of  another  tree,  is  General  Meade — a  military 
hat,  with  the  rim  turned  down  about  his  ears,  tap- 
ping a  scabbard  with  his  fingers,  and  gazing  ab- 
stractedly into  the  depths  of  the  earth  through 
eye-glasses  that  should  become  historic.  General 
Humphreys,  chief  of  staff — a  spectacled,  iron-gray, 
middle-aged  officer,  of  a  pleasant  smile  and  man 
ner,  who  wears  his  trowsers  below,  after  the 


HEADQUARTERS.  313 

manner  of  leggins,  and  is  in  all  things  indepen- 
dent and  serene,  paces  yonder  to  and  fro.  That 
rather  thick-set  officer,  with  closely-trimmed  whis- 
kers, and  the  kindest  of  eyes,  who  never  betrays  a 
harsh  impatience  to  any  comer,  is  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral Williams.  General  Hunt,  chief  of  artillery, 
a  hearty-faced,  frank-handed  man,  whose  black 
hair  and  whiskers  have  the  least  touch  of  time, 
lounges  at  the  foot  of  another  tree,  holding  lazy 
converse  with  one  or  two  members  of  his  staff. 
General  Ingalls,  chief  quartermaster  of  the  army, 
than  whom  no  more  imperturbable,  efficient,  or 
courteous  presence  is  here,  plays  idly  and  smil- 
ingly with  a  riding- whip,  tossing  a  telling  word  or 
two  hither  and  thither.  Staff  officers  and  order- 
lies and  horses  thickly  strew  the  grove." 

But  that  night,  after  the  moon  was  down,  Grant 
began  his  march,  Warren  leading  the  advance. 
"  The  fires  burned  brightly,  and  at  a  distance,  up- 
on the  wooded  hillsides,  looked  like  the  lights  of 
a  city.  Standing  upon  an  eminence,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  Germania,  Chancellors ville,  and  Orange 
Court  House  roads,  along  which  the  tramp  of 
soldiers  and  the  rumble  of  wagon  trains  made  a 
smothered  din,  one  could  almost  imagine  himself 
peering  down  through  the  darkness  on  the  streets 
of  a  metropolis  in  peace.  Back  in  the  forest, 
from  the  hospitals,  from  the  trees,  from  the  road- 
side, the  wounded  were  being  gathered  in  ambu- 
14 


314  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

lances  for  the  long  night-journey.  That  part  of 
the  army  not  on  the  move  was  slumbering  by 
fires,  waiting  for  the  signal.11  Lee,  who  watched 
his  adversary  with  sleepless  vigilance,  knew  of  this 
movement  within  an  hour  after  it  commenced,  and 
at  once  hurried  off  troops  by  a  shorter  route, 
which,  by  rapid  marching — at  one  time  going  on 
the  double-quick  for  two  miles — reached  Spott- 
sylvania  first.  Although  Warren  pushed  the 
enemy  before  him,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  the 
first  line  of  breastworks,  yet  he  was  finally  compel- 
led to  retire  with  the  loss  of  fifteen  hundred  men. 
The  next  day  Sheridan  started  on  his  raid  to 
break  up  Lee's  communications  with  Richmond. 
This,  and  the  two  following  days,  Grant  spent  in 
"  manoeuvring  and  fighting,  without  any  decisive 
results."  O-si  the  12th,  he  made  a  grand  assault 
on  the  enemy's  lines,  and  a  most  terrific  conflict 
followed.  Our  wearied  men  fought  as  though 
fresh  from  their  encampments.  Bayonet  charges 
occurred  in  various  parts  of  the  line,  and  the  roar 
of  artillery,  and  crash  of  musketry,  and  shouts  of 
infuriated  men,  conspired  to  make  a  scene  of  ter- 
ror inconceivable,  indescribable.  The  carnage  was 
awful ;  not  less  than  eight  or  ten  thousand  men 
falling  on  our  side  alone.  Hancock's  assault  on 
Lee's  right  centre  was  a  brilliant  one,  and, 
though  crowned  with  great  success,  gave  no  per- 
manent advantage.  His  attacking  columns  were 


AN  ASSAULT.  315 

formed  before  it  was  full  daylight,  and  just  in  the 
gray  of  the  dawn  moved  swiftly,  and  without 
firing  a  shot,  straight  on  the  ramparts,  at  whose 
base  stretched  a  deep,  wide  ditch.  The  enemy, 
never  dreaming  of  such  a  bold  movement,  saw, 
before  they  were  aware  of  it,  the  soldiers  pouring 
like  an  inundation  over  the  works.  Rolled  back 
by  the  sudden  and  terrific  onset,  they  retreated, 
fighting,  for  a  mile.  Made  aware  of  the  frightful 
disaster  that  had  overtaken  them,  the  rebel  gene- 
rals hurried  up  supports,  and  reforming  the  lines, 
advanced  with  the  determination  to  retake  the  im- 
portant position.  Five  times  did  Lee  hurl  his 
army  upon  it,  and  as  often  was  driven  back.  The 
battle  raged  here  all  day  with  terrific  fury,  and 
the  ground  was  literally  heaped  with  the  dead. 
So  determined  were  the  onsets,  and  so  close  the 
death-grapple,  that  the  rebel  colors  and  our  own 
would  at  times  be  planted  on  the  opposite  sides  of 
the  same  works,  "the  men  fighting  across  the 
parapet1' 

Hancock  captured,  in  this  brilliant  assault,  an 
entire  division,  four  thousand  strong,  and  thirty 
guns. 

But  Grant  saw  clearly  that  the  strong  position 
of  Lee  could  not  be  carried  by  assault,  and  he 
found  himself  again  foiled.  He  had  left  a  dead 
and  wounded  army  behind  him,  and  had  neither 
got  a  decisive  battle  out  of  Lee,  nor  compelled 


816  LIFE   OF   GttANT. 

him  to  retreat.  Instead,  however,  of  being  dis 
heartened,  his  purpose  was  more  fixed  than  ever, 
and  he  telegraphed  back  to  Washington,  "I  shall 
fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer,11 
and  asked  for  reinforcements.  They  were  sent, 
as  of  old,  with  trembling  expostulations  not  to 
leave  Washington  exposed ;  but  its  safety  rested 
not  on  its  garrisons,  but  on  Grant's  strong  right 
arm.  While  these  were  coming  up,  Grant  changed 
his  base  of  supplies  to  Fredericksburg.  Two 
weeks  were  consumed  in  this  way,  and  then  he 
resolved  to  make  another  effort  to  get  around 
Lee.  Moving  off  in  a  simicircle,  he  aimed  for  the 
North  Anna  river,  which,  if  he  could  reach  first, 
would  place  him  between  Lee  and  Richmond.  In 
order  to  conceal  this  movement,  the  corps  on  his  ex- 
treme right  moved  back,  and  marched  down  behind 
the  main  army.  When  well  under  way,  the  one 
next  to  it  broke  off  in  the  same  way — so  that  the 
right  wing  became  the  left,  and  vice  versa.  But 
again  Lee,  who  was  keenly  on  the  lookout,  de- 
tected the  movement  soon  enough,  and  by  swift 
marching,  and  having  a  shorter  distance  to  travel, 
reached  that  point  first ;  and  Grant,  finding  his 
position  still  stronger  than  the  one  at  Spottsylva- 
nia,  made  no  determined  effort  to  take  it  Han- 
cock gained  some  success;  and  Warrer  had  a 
short,  fierce  battle  with  the  enemy,  in  which 
Grant  said,  "I  never  heard  more  rapid  or  mass- 


SKIRMISHING.  317 

ive  firing,  either  of  artillery  or  musketry.11  The 
rebel  attack  was  repulsed,  but  no  important  ad- 
vantage was  secured ;  and  Grant  determined  to 
make  one  more  attempt  to  swing  around  Lee  and 
compel  him  to  fight  outside  of  his  works,  and  on 
the  night  of  the  26th  moved  by  way  of  Hanover- 
town.  But  when,  on  the  28th,  the  army  reached 
the  place — which  was  only  fifteen  miles  from 
Richmond — he  found  Lee's  army  drawn  up  in 
line  of  battle  and  intrenched,  ready  to  receive 
him.  Marching  and  skirmishing  and  partial  bat- 
tles now  occupied  several  days ;  when  Grant,  hav- 
ing completed  his  arrangements,  fixed  the  3d  of 
June  for  a  heavy  assault  along  the  whole  line. 
The  Eighteenth  Corps  had  in  the  meantime  joined 
him  from  Butler's  army,  which  was  so  "corked 
up"  at  Bermuda  Hundred  as  to  be  of  no  practical 
use.  The  Union  line,  at  this  time,  extended 
from  Bethesda  Church  to  Cold  Harbor,  a  distance 
of  eight  miles.  At  a  given  signal  it  advanced  in 
splendid  order,  and  Grant  hoped  by  one  mighty 
effort  to  drive  Lee  across  the  Chickahoininy, 
and  force  him  into  the  intrenchments  of  Rich- 
mond. But  the  rebel  host  lay  behind  strong 
works  that  could  not  be  carried,  although  the 
troops  struggled  for  five  dreadful  hours  at  their 
very  base.  Completely  exposed,  they  were  mowed 
down  with  terrible  slaughter ;  while  the  enemy, 
sheltered  behind  his  breastworks,  suffered  but 


318  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

little.  The  next  morning  Grant  rode  along  the 
front  to  ascertain  from  the  various  commanders 
the  actual  state  of  things  in  their  vicinity.  He 
returned,  absorbed  in  thought,  for  he  knew  it 
would  be  useless  to  repeat  the  attack.  All  that 
matchless  valor  and  skill  could  do  had  been  done, 
and  thirteen  thousand  men  had  fallen  in  the  long 
and  hopeless  struggle ;  wjiile  the  enemy,  sheltered 
behind  his  works,  had  lost  hardly  more  than  as 
many  hundred.  Never  had  a  commander  or 
subordinates  made  more  superhuman  endeavors, 
never  had  the  world  witnessed  such  determina- 
tion and  endurance  in  troops,  yet  nothing  had 
been  gained  except  in  the  destruction  of  life. 
Grant  saw  that  his  last  effort  had  been  made  for 
victory  hi  the  field,  and  he  must  settle  down  to  a 
long  siege,  or  change  his  base. 

He  now  proposed  to  Lee,  that  while  there  was 
no  actual  fighting,  each  party  might,  on  notifica- 
tion to  the  other,  succor  its  wounded  and  bury  its 
dead.  Lee  replied  that  he  preferred  it  should  be 
done  through  a  flag  of  truce,  to  which  Grant  gave 
his  assent. 

Finding  that  Richmond  could  not  be  reached 
over  the  enemy  in  this  direction,  he  determined, 
by  a  sudden  movement,  to  fling  his  army  over  the 
James  lliver,  and  seize  Petersburg,  which  Butler 
had  failed  to  take,  laying  the  blame  of  defeat  on 
Gilrnore. 


CROSSES   THE  JAMES.  319 

This,  however,  was  a  delicate  operation,  for  the 
opposing  lines  were  so  close  that  it  was  hardly  to 
be  expected  that  he  could  move  off,  unobserved, 
such  an  immense  army,  without  exposing  himself 
to  a  sudden  attack.  But  concentrating  his  lines, 
and  throwing  up  strong  works  to  protect  his 
flanks,  he,  on  Sunday  night,  the  12th  of  June, 
quietly  and  swiftly  changed  front,  and  marched 
away  from  the  Chickahominy.  Smith's  corps 
moved  off  to  the  White  House  and  embarked  on 
transports,  while  the  rest  of  the  army  struck 
across  the  country  to  the  James  River,  fifty  miles 
away.  Passing  below  the  White  Oak  Swamp, 
stirring  recollections  were  brought  to  the  army  of 
the  Potomac,  which  two  years  before  fought  their 
way  on  almost  the  same  line  to  the  point  toward 
which  they  were  now  pressing. 

Grant  broke  up  his  camp  and  sent  off  all  his 
immense  trains  on  the  12th,  Two  days  after,  on 
the  14th,  Hancock  was  crossing  the  James,  by 
ferry,  at  Wilcox  Landing,  and  the  Sixth  Corps, 
by  ferry  and  a  pontoon  bridge,  a  little  lower 
down. 

This  march  of  fifty-five  miles  was  made  without 
molestation;  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
planned  and  carried  out  shows  the  marvellous 
skill  of  Grant  in  handling  a  large  army.  He  ex- 
pected to  take  Petersburg  by  this  sudden  move- 
ment, and  thus  advance  his  lines  nearer  to  Rich- 


320  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

mond  on  the  south  side.  The  attack  was  at  first 
successful,  and  the  outer  works  captured,  and  the 
report  flew  over  the  land  that  it  had  fallen.  It 
ought  to  have  fallen  days  before,  and  would  if 
Grant  had  been  on  the  spot  to  have  controlled 
Butler,  Gilmore,  and  Smith,  in  person.  But  the 
failure  of  these  officers  had  caused  the  enemy  to 
strengthen  the  fortifications  and  reinforce  the  gar- 
rison. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

REVIEW  OF   THE   CAMPAIGN. 

The  Overland  and  Peninsula  Routes  considered — Reasons  against 
the  Former — "  Continuous  Hammering  " — Grant  charged  with 
having  Contempt  for  all  Manoeuvres — The  Charge  disproved — 
Distinguished  for  his  Skilful  Manoeuvres — Compared  to  Napo- 
leon— Not  to  blame  for  the  Slaughter  in  the  "Wilderness,  or  the 
Error  at  Cold  Harbor — Gloomy  Retrospect — Failure  of  Siegel 
and  Butler  to  do  their  Part — Reason  of  the  great  Disparity  in 
the  Losses  of  the  two  Armies. 

A  CORRECT  idea  of  the  motives  that  influenced 
Grant  to  the  course  he  adopted — and  the  causes 
that  led  to  the  failure  of  his  plan  in  its  most  im- 
portant features — and  the  results  he  actually  ac- 
complished, can  be  obtained  only  by  a  careful 
review  of  the  campaign  from  its  inception  to  its 
close. 

It  had  lasted  forty-three  days,  and  he  now 
found  himself  on  the  spot  that  McClellan  occu- 
pied when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  recalled 
to  Washington. 

The  friends  of  the  latter  pointed  to  this  fact,  and 
inquired,  why,  if  the  army  was  to  occupy  the 
Peninsula  at  last,  it  was  not  transported  there  at 
the  outset — as  it  could  have  been  without  the 
loss  of  a  man — instead  of  reaching  it,  after  a 


322  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

long  struggle,  and  the  sacrifice  of  sixty  thousand 
men? 

It  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  these  critics 
to  inquire,  what  Lee  would  have  been  doing  while 
this  great  transfer  of  the  army  was  being  effected. 
It  is  assumed  that  he  would  have  hastened  back 
to  the  defence  of  his  capital.  But  this  is  merely 
conjecture :  for  nothing  is  more  evident  than  that 
he  could  have  defended  Richmond  better  by 
marching  again  into  Maryland,  or  on  Washington ; 
for  before  the  heads  of  his  columns  were  well 
over  the  Potomac,  Grant's  army  would  have  been 
recalled.  But  suppose  Lee  had  not  made  this 
bold  move,  and  taken  instead  his  army  to  Rich- 
mond, where  he  did  eventually  plant  it,  he  could 
have  spared  enough  troops  to  threaten  Washing- 
ton, and  break  up  Grant's  army ;  for  even  after 
his  terrible  losses  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness, 
and  at  Spottsylvania  and  other  places,  he  was 
still  able  to  despatch  an  army  twelve  thousand 
strong  into  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  which 
gathered  its  harvests,  and  then  crossing  into  Mary- 
land and  Pennsylvania,  burned  Chambersburg, 
cut  the  railroad  north  of  Baltimore,  and  advanced 
to  the  very  gates  of  the  National  capital.  It 
spread  consternation  on  every  side ;  and  although 
the  Nineteenth  Corps  opportunely  arrived  from 
New  Orleans,  it  was  not  considered  strong  enough, 
with  all  the  forces  that  could  be  raised  in  the 


THE   EOUTES   CONSIDERED.  323 

vicinity,  to  cope  with  the  rebels,  and  the  veteran 
Sixth  Corps  had  to  be  detached  from  the  army 
of  the  Potomac,  and  sent  to  protect  Washington 
and  the  neighboring  loyal  country. 

Now  suppose  that  Lee  had  the  twenty  thou- 
sand men  that  lay  in  hospitals,  or  strewing  the 
battle-fields  on  the  line  of  his  retreat,  to  add  to 
the  twelve  thousand  he  actually  sent  to  the  valley 
of  the  Shenandoah,  swelling  the  force  to  thirty  or 
forty  thousand  men :  who  does  not  see  that  the 
siege  of  Richmond  must  have  been  raised,  and 
the  whole  campaign  gone  over  again  ?  It  requires 
but  the  simplest  arithmetical  calculation  to  de- 
termine, if  twelve  thousand  men  demanded  the 
presence  of  two  additional  corps  in  front  of  Wash- 
ington, how  many  corps  would  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  men  have  required.  Those  dead  and 
wounded  of  Lee's  army  that  cost  us  so  heavily, 
were,  in  the  crisis  of  affairs,  absolutely  indispen- 
sable to  the  defence  of  Richmond.  Lee  could  not 
replace  them. 

But  it  has  been  suggested  that  Grant  should 
have  divided  his  army,  and  left  part  to  cover 
Washington,  and  transported  the  other  half  to 
the  Peninsula.  We  do  not  see  how  this  relieves 
the  difficulty ;  for  in  case  Grant  thus  divided  his 
forces,  Lee  would  have  divided  his  also,  and  left 
twenty-five,  thousand  men  in  front  of  Washing- 
ton, which,  if  the  two  corps  sent  to  defeat  Early 


324  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

with  twelve  thousand  furnishes  the  correct  ratU 
of  force  required,  four  corps  would  have  been 
necessary  to  oppose  them.  On  this  supposition, 
had  there  been  no  overland  campaign,  and  hence 
Lee  lost  no  troops,  he  would  have  had  within  five 
thousand  as  many  men  to  defend  Richmond  as 
he  did  have,  while  Grant  would  have  been  weaker 
by  half  his  entire  army.  In  the  light  of  subse- 
quent events,  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  what  added 
embarrassments,  protracted  delays,  if  not  defeat, 
would  have  resulted  from  this  diminution  of  his 
force  in  front  of  Richmond.  As  it  was,  he  had 
quite  few  enough  troops  for  the  task  required  of 
him.  Hence  it  is  clear,  whatever  course  Lee 
might  have  taken,  the  result  to  Grant  would  have 
been  the  same  had  he  planted  a  part,  or  the  whole 
of  his  army,  on  the  Peninsula,  without  first  weak- 
ening his  adversary.  It  would  have  been  mad- 
ness to  have  assailed  him  in  his  strong  works 
along  the  Rapidan.  A  flank  movement,  there- 
fore, was  the  only  course  left  him  ;  and  the  Battle 
of  the  Wilderness,  fearful  as  it  was,  became  in- 
evitable, and  he  now  had  to  fight  his  way  to 
Richmond,  or  retreat  No  one  would  approve  of 
the  latter  course — how  then  could  he  have  done 
otherwise  than  he  did  ?  Will  any  one  assert  that 
the  army  could  have  been  handled  witL  more 
consummate  skill,  or  fought  with  more  splendid 
heroism  ?  He  was  not  to  blame  for  the  strong 


MAN(BUVMNG.  325 

works  that  hedged  his  path  on  every  side.  The 
terrific  battles  and  failures  of  the  last  three  years 
had  caused  them  to  be  constructed  by  the  enemy ; 
and  when  Grant  took  command,  he  had  got  to 
fight  Lee  with  all  these  disadvantages  against  him, 
or  not  fight  at  all.  It  was  this  state  of  things  that 
made  him  say  he  meant  to  win  success  by  u  contin- 
uous hammering."  The  phrase  has  been  repeated 
to  prove  that  Grant  possessed  no  strategy,  and  re- 
lied solely  on  brute  force.  To  give  still  greater 
emphasis  to  the  accusation,  he  is  adduced  as  evi- 
dence against  himself.  It  is  said  that  soon  after 
he  took  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
General  Meade  was  one  day  speaking  to  him 
of  certain  manoeuvres  that  might  be  executed, 
when  the  former  interrupted  him  with  "  I  never 


manoeuvre" 


Now  we  do  not  wish  to  question  the  authority 
for  this  statement,  but  simply  say  that  it  was  in- 
tended either  as  a  rebuke  to  mere  "  martinetism" 
if  we  may  coin  the  word — or  in  other  words,  an 
expression  of  impatience  at  the  laying  down  of 
some  abstract  rules  as  found  in  the  books,  and 
which  had  no  pertinency  in  the  present  condition 
of  things  ;  or  he  did  not  believe  what  he  said  and 
stated  what  his  acts  disproved.  Hence,  the  infer- 
ence deduced  from  the  utterance  of  the  expression 
is  totally  falsa 

There  are  two  distinct  kinds  of  manoeuvres — one 


326  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

on  the  battle-field  itself,  the  whole  of  which  the 
commanding  general  from  a  height  or  tower  of  ob- 
servation embraces  in  a  glance,  and  over  which  he 
moves  his  troops  as  one  moves  pieces  on  a  chess- 
board. Now  if  Grant's  remark  applied  to  this 
kind  of  manoeuvres,  he  not  only  told  the  truth,  but 
showed  his  good  judgment — that  strong  common 
sense  which  enabled  him  to  make  on  the  spot,  if 
he  had  never  seen  them,  all  the  good  rules  appli- 
cable to  that  particular  case,  and  reject  those 
growing  out  of  a  warfare  waged  on  entirely  differ- 
ent conditions  than  the  one  he  was  conducting. 
He  had  this  distinctive  quality  of  greatness,  that 
he  could  use  rules  without  letting  rules  use  him. 
Napoleon,  in  those  great  battles  fought  on  the  ex- 
tended, open,  and  often  unfenced  plains  of  Europe, 
was  accustomed  from  some  elevated  position  to 
sweep  the  entire  field  with  his  glass,  and  handle 
his  army  like  a  single  machine.  But  not  a 
battle  of  any  proportions  had  been  fought  in  our 
country  on  such  an  open  plain,  and  probably  never 
will  be,  unless  it  takes  place  on  one  of  our  west- 
ern prairies.  Our  armies  met  in  woods  and  ra- 
vines and  thickets,  where  the  commander  could  see 
only  a  small  portion  of  the  army  at  any  one  time, 
and  much  had  to  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
corps  and  division  commanders.  To  speak  of 
grand  manoeuvres,  such  as  are  described  in  the 
military  works  of  Europe,  as  possible  on  the  fields 


MANOEUVRING.  327 

of  our  conflict,  is  absurd ;  and  if  Grant  said  he 
"  never  manoeuvred"  in  reference  to  such  martial 
displays,  we  repeat  it,  he  showed  his  good  sense,  arid 
deserves  praise  instead  of  censure  for  it.  There 
was  no  such  manoeuvring  at  Antietam,  Freder- 
icksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  Shiloh, 
Stone  Hiver,  or  Missionary  Hidge.  It  was  all 
square,  stand-up,  hard  fighting — massive  onsets 
and  shocks — and  Grant  doubtless  meant  to  say  it 
had  got  to  be  so  to  the  bitter  end. 

The  other  class  of  manoeuvres  applies  to  those 
movements  made  to  get  into  right  position  pre- 
vious to  battle ;  skillful  marches  by  which  the 
enemy  is  deceived  and  attacked  in  an  unexpected 
quarter,  or  different  portions  of  his  army  cut  up 
in  detail  before  they  can  concentrate.  These  man- 
oeuvres, if  successful,  indicate  the  highest  order  of 
military  genius,  and  Grant  plainly  had  no  refer- 
ence to  these  in  the  remark  quoted  above,  for 
he  had  won  his  greatest  fame  and  success  by 
them.  It  was  a  battle  of  manoeuvres  from 
the  day  he  passed  the  batteries  of  Vicksburg, 
for  a  whole  month,  till  he  invested  the  place. 
With  three  armies  opposed  to  him,  he  so  manoeu- 
vred that  they  were  never  able  to  form  a  junction 
and  overwhelm  him,  but,  beating  them  in  detail, 
separated  them  totally.  In  fact,  so  brilliant  were 
these  manoeuvres,  and  so  rapidly  executed,  that 
but  for  the  failure  of  McClernand  to  perform  the 


328  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

part  assigned  him  at  Champion's  Hill,  Vicksbnrg 
would  have  been  reached  and  invested  without  a 
single  serious  battle.  The  first  campaign  of  Na- 
poleon in  Italy,  and  that  which  shut  up  Mack  at 
Ulm  and  compelled  his  capitulation,  are  con- 
sidered models  for  the  military  student ;  yet  that 
of  Grant  in  rear  of  Vicksburg  is  equal  to  either 
of  them  in  boldness  of  conception  and  skill  and 
success  in  execution,  and  must,  when  the  nature 
of  the  country  is  taken  into  consideration,  be  re- 
garded as  superior  to  them. 

It  is,  therefore,  as  we  said,  absurd  to  attempt  to 
prove  that  Grant  did  not  approve  of  manoeuvring. 
He  thoroughly  understood  his  situation,  and  in 
our  opinion,  and  which  we  think  the  facts  and 
reasons  as  presented  above  sustain,  executed  the 
only  manoeuvre  that  promised  success.  His  critics 
confess  that  there  were  but  three  movements  open 
to  him — the  one  he  made,  a  similar  one  around 
Lee's  left,  and  last  the  transportation  of  his  army 
or  a  part  of  it  to  the  Peninsula:  That  by  the  left 
would  have  required  just  as  much  fighting  as  the 
one  he  took,  while  subsequent  events  have  shown 
that  the  transportation  of  the  army  to  the  Penin- 
sula would  have  been  an  error.  The  most  terrible 
slaughter  that  occurred  in  his  entire  march  was  at 
the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  where  it  was  a  con- 
test of  mere  brute  force,  but  that  was  not  brought 
on  by  hiTTij  but  Lee,  and  on  purpose  to  prevent, 


EEKOR  AT  COLD  HARBOR.         329 

manoeuvring.  Grant  here  acted  on  the  de- 
fensive ;  and  when  one  points  to  the  piles  of 
dead  which  strewed  that  gloomy  forest,  and  speaks 
of  butchery,  let  him  remember  that  the  gladiato- 
rial conflict  which  wrought  that  destruction  was 
the  work  of  the  rebel  commander. 

Grant's  desperate  assault  on  the  strong  works 
at  Spottsylvania  was  necessary,  unless  he  aban- 
doned his  plan  altogether  of  getting  between  Lee 
and  Richmond,  and  is  sustained  by  the  soundest 
military  maxims.  The  only  other  fearful  slaughter 
which  made  his  enemies  at  home  and  abroad  stig- 
matize him  as  a  butcher,  was  at  Cold  Harbor — and 
if  he  made  any  mistake  in  this  campaign  it  was  here. 
The  battle  was  decided  in  the  first  ten  minutes, 
and  the  long  struggle  that  succeeded  was  un- 
doubtedly a  useless  waste  of  life.  Grant  may 
have  carried  his  proverbial  obstinacy  of  character 
too  far  here,  but  it  was  his  last  hope.  He  must 
do  this  or  give  up  the  plan  of  reaching  Richmond 
from  the  north,  and  it  was  natural  that  his  last 
effort  should  be  pushed  even  beyond  the  limits 
of  good  judgment.  The  attack  proved  a  total 
failure,  and  the  frightful  disparity  in  the  loss 
of  life  shows  that  it  should  never  have  been 
made. 

It  is  true  this  campaign  of  fifty-three  days 
summed  up  sadly.  As  Grant  looked  back  on  the 
frightful  road  he  had  travelled,  he  could  not 


330  LIFE  OF   GKANf, 

behold  any  one  success  of  great  importance, 
On  the  contrary,  his  plans  had  all  miscarried 
— he  had  not  accomplished  what  he  proposed 
to  do.  More  than  this,  the  two  generals  who 
were  to  cooperate  with  him  had  worse  than 
failed  in  the  task  assigned  them.  Siegel,  in  the 
Valley  of  Shenandoah,  not  only  effected  nothing, 
but  was  terribly  defeated  and  put  to  rout,  while 
Butler  on  the  James  River  had  succeeded  only  in 
"  corking  himself  up  "  at  Bermuda  Hundreds. 
Different  results  would  doubtless  have  been  reach- 
ed had  more  competent  generals  been  in  their 
places.  But  political  considerations  in  Washing- 
ton, outside  of  Grant,  put  them  in  the  responsible 
positions  they  held.  Especially,  if  an  energetic, 
able  commander  had  been  in  Butler's  place,  Grant 
would  have  been  saved  the  sad  retrospect,  and 
the  discouraging  future  he  now  contemplated. 
Had  Sheridan  been  at  the  head  of  the  army  on 
the  James,  he  would  long  before  either  have  been 
in  Richmond,  or  pressing  it  so  terribly  that  Lee 
would  have  been  compelled  to  retreat  precipitate- 
ly to  save  it,  with  Grant  thundering  in  his 
rear,  and  sure  of  a  speedy  victory.  But  some  in- 
sane political  necessity  kept  Butler  in  command 
against  Grant's  wishes,  and  he  failed  utterly  to 
do  his  part  in  carrying  out  his  commander's  plans, 
and  hence  at  the  very  outset  rendered  their  execu- 
tion impossible. 


GLOOMY   RETROSPECT.  331 

The  disparity  of  loss  in  this  campaign  is  men- 
tioned as  a  proof  of  Lee's  superior  generalship, 
but  the  inference  is  false.  Grant  was  acting  on 
the  offensive,  and  had  to  attack  the  enemy  where 
lie  found  him.  Lee  kept  behind  his  works  except 
in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  and  the  ratio  of 
loss  between  assailants  and  defenders,  where  the 
latter  are  protected  by  strong  works,  has  always 
been  considered  as  about  four  to  one.  It  is  true 
that  the  record  of  our  loss  in  this  campaign  is  a 
frightful  one.  In  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness 
and  up  to  Spottsylvania,  the  aggregate  in  dead, 
wounded,  and  missing,  was,  .  .  .29,410 

Spottsylvania 10,381 

North  Anna 1,607 

Cold  Harbor 13,153 

Total 54,551 

But  this  leaves  out  the  losses  of  the  Ninth 
Corps,  except  in  the  last  battle.  It  was  not  for- 
mally incorporated  into  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
until  after  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania,  and  hence 
not  included  in  the  report  of  General  Meade. 
If  its  losses  were  half  as  heavy  as  that  of  the  other 
corps,  the  number  would  swell  to  the  fearful 
amount  of  sixty  thousand,  of  whom  three  thou- 
sand were  officers,  many  of  them  the  flower  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  Confederate  loss,  aa 


332  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

stated  by  southern  officers  and  writers,  was  only 
18,000.  It  may  have  been  a  little  more,  but 
probably  did  not  reach  20,000.  The  nature  of 
the  conflict  made  this  disproportion  inevitable — 
the  enemy  fighting  behind  works,  except  in  the 
Wilderness.  Here  the  disparity  was  owing  to 
a  different  cause.  Several  reasons  have  been 
given  for  it,  but  in  our  estimation,  the  chief 
one  has  been  overlooked.  Separate  reports  on 
this  battle  have  never  been  rendered,  but  we 
can  approximate  very  near  the  truth.  Our 
loss  may  be  put  at  about  20,000,  while  that 
of  Lee,  according  to  the  reports  of  the  rebel 
surgeons,  was  only  seven  thousand.  Yet  here 
they  did  not  fight  behind  breastworks,  but  out 
in  the  woods,  like  our  own  men.  The  inquiry 
then  naturally  arises,  How  came  the  loss  to  be  so 
unequal  ?  Some  have  said  that  it  was  owing  to 
the  superiority  of  the  Southern  troops  in  the  In- 
dian style  of  fighting  that  characterized  that  bat- 
tie,  and  to  the  dull  gray  color  of  their  uniforms, 
which  made  them  less  conspicuous  objects  amid 
the  foliage  than  our  troops,  with  their  light  blue 
uniforms.  There  is  doubtless  some  force  in  these 
reasons,  especially  the  latter  one,  but  we  believe 
the  chief  one,  although  at  first  it  seems  paradoxi- 
cal, is  to  be  found  in  our  superiority  of  numbers. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  advantage  which 
numbers  give  in  battle  is  two-fold — first,  the 


DISPARITY   IN   LOSSES.  333 

weight  they  impart  to  a  charge  or  onset.  The 
concentration  of  masses  on  a  given  point  puts  an 
inferior  army  at  a  great  disadvantage.  Second, 
numbers  allow  the  extension  of  lines  till  they 
overlap,  and  hence  outflank  the  enemy.  But 
in  the  Wilderness  Grant  totally  lost  both  these  ad- 
vantages. The  wood  prevented  both  the  concen- 
tration of  masses  on  any  portion  of  the  rebel  lines 
and  any  movement  to  overreach  and  lap  it 
Hence  Grant's  numbers  on  this  battle-field,  which 
was  not  of  his  choosing,  only  furnished  a  larger 
mark  to  fire  at  Artillery  being  out  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  the  foliage  so  thick  as  to  render  objects 
at  a  little  distance  invisible,  the  troops,  in  order 
to  fight  at  all,  had  to  be  in  close  proximity, 
actually  face  to  face.  But  under  these  circum- 
stances, only  about  the  same  number  on  both 
sides  could  fire  with  any  effect  among  the  trees. 
Hence  the  firing  was,  in  fact,  nearly  equal,  while 
the  enemy  had  twice  as  many  men  to  fire  at  as 
we.  The  tens  of  thousands  that  thronged  the 
forest  on  our  side,  and  could  only  act  as  supports, 
furnished  a  mark  so  large  that  almost  every  rebel 
bullet — being  fired  at  so  close  a  range — that 
escaped  a  tree,  would  strike  a  soldier.  Lee  knew 
this  would  be  so,  and  chose  this  strange  battle- 
field for  the  sole  purpose  of  putting  the  armies  on 
an  equality. 

There  could  be  no  order  of  battle  in  this  Wil- 


334  LITE  OP   GRANT. 

derness,  and  it  was  simply  like  shooting  birds  in 
the  field,  with  the  advantage  on  the  rebel  side  of 
shooting  into  a  large  flock  instead  of  a  small  one, 
and  of  course  with  the  same  cartridges  doing 
double  execution. 


CHAPTER  XXT. 

THE  SIEGE. 

^heartening  aspect  of  affairs — Importance  of  Petersburg — Hun- 
ter succeeds  Siegel — Wilson's  raid — Movement  north  of  the 
James  River — Explosion  of  a  Mine — Defeat  of  Hunter — Inva- 
sion of  Early — Despondency — Grant's  letter  to  Washburn — 
Appoints  Sheridan  Commander  of  all  the  Forces  around  Wash- 
ington and  in  the  Middle  Department — Checks  Sheridan — 
Finally,  bids  him  "  Go  in  1  "—Effect  of  Sheridan's  Victories- 
Grant  attempts  to  get  around  Lee's  left — Hancock  attacked — 
Winter  operations — Almost  a  frightful  disaster — Atlanta  reach- 
ed—Grant's  grief  at  the  death  of  McPherson — His  Letter  to  the 
Grandmother — Permits  Sherman  to  cut  loose  from  Atlanta — 
His  views  upon  it— Is  anxious  to  have  Thomas  attack  Hood — 
Correspondence — Fort  Fisher — Butler's  disobedience — Capture 
of  the  place — Directs  Sherman  to  come  to  him  by  sea — Coun- 
termands the  order — Schofield  ordered  East — Stoneman's  raid 
— Expedition  against  Mobile— Directions  to  Thomas — Concen- 
tric movements — Sheridan's  raid — Correspondence  with  Lin- 
coln— Interview  with  him  and  Sherman — Resolves  to  move. 

As  Grant,  from  before  Petersburg,  surveyed 
his  position,  the  prospect  was  gloomy  enough. 
On  every  side  rose  strong  works — not  a  single 
line  of  them,  but  successive  ones.  He  was  sorely 
disappointed  in  not  taking  Petersburg,  and  cen- 
sured those  to  whom  he  had  given  charge  of  the 
undertaking.  We  have  not  gone  into  the  details 


336  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

of  the  various  efforts  to  capture  it,  nor  of  the  one 
made  by  Grant  after  his  arrival  before  it.  There  has 
been  much  recrimination  among  the  officers  com- 
manding the  expeditions,  and  contradiction  and 
confusion  in  the  reports  respecting  the  failure 
even  of  the  last  assault. 

The  place  was  over  twenty  miles  from  Rich- 
mond, and  its  chief  importance  lay  in  the  fact 
that  its  possession  would  give  Grant  nearly  ail 
the  lines  by  which  Lee's  army  was  supplied.  Pe- 
tersburg, therefore,  was,  to  all  intents,  Richmond 
itself.  Of  course  it  was  of  the  first  importance, 
now  that  a  regular  siege  was  determined  upon,  to 
cut  off  these  sources  of  supply,  which  could  be 
done  only  either  by  extending  his  lines  around 
the  place  to  the  south,  or  sending  off  separate 
forces  to  do  it. 

Grant  had  previously  put  Hunter  in  Siegel's 
place,  with  directions  to  break  up  a  branch  rail- 
road, running  through  Staunton,  by  which  quan- 
tities of  supplies  were  forwarded  in  that  direction, 
while  Wilson,  with  a  heavy  force  of  cavalry,  was 
sent  to  cut  the  railroads  south.  The  latter  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  up  a  portion  of  them,  so  that 
it  took  the  enemy  some  time  to  put  them  in  work- 
ing order  again. 

Grant,  in  the  meantime,  by  the  various  plans 
he  set  on  foot,  kept  Lee  constantly  on  the  alert, 
for  his  blows  fell  now  on  one  side  and  now  on  the 


HUNTER   RETREATS.  S37 

other,  and  often  in  a  most  unexpected  time  and 
place.  He  moved  a  heavy  force  north  of  the 
James  River,  to  cut  the  railroad  "  from  near  Rich- 
mond to  the  Anna  River,"  and  some  severe  fight- 
ing took  place  ;  for  Lee,  made  aware  of  the  move- 
ment, sent  a  large  force  to  check  it.  Anticipat- 
ing this,  Grant  ordered  a  mine,  that  had  been  dug  in 
front  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  to  be  sprung,  and  the  ex- 
plosion to  be  followed  by  a  vigorous  assault  of  the 
enemy's  lines  at  that  point.  It  came  near  being  a 
success,  and  Grant  thought  that,  with  a  little  more 
promptness  in  advancing,  Petersburg  might  have 
been  captured.  But  now  a  new  cause  of  anxiety 
arose.  Hunter,  who  had  marched  triumphantly  up 
the  Shenandoah  Valley  till  he  lay  siege  to  Lynch- 
burg,  was  finally,  from  want  of  ammunition,  com- 
pelled to  retreat  If  he  had  moved  as  Grant  an- 
ticipated, this  would  not  have  happened.  Forced 
to  return  by  the  circuitous  way  of  Kanawha,  he  ne- 
cessarily left  the  Shenandoah  Valley  unprotected, 
and  Early,  sweeping  down  through  it,  crossed  the 
Potomac  into  Maryland,  and  threatened  Baltimore 
and  Washington.  Despatch  after  despatch,  show- 
ing the  wildest  alarm,  was  now  sent  to  Grant 
from  the  Capital,  and  the  President  was  besought 
to  recall  the  army  from  Richmond.  But  he  stub- 
bornly refused  to  do  so,  saying  that  he  had  im- 
plicit confidence  in  General  Grant,  and  should 
leave  him  to  take  his  own  course  to  avert  the 
15 


838  LIFE   OF   QUANT. 

threatened  danger.  The  latter  immediately  de- 
spatched the  Sixth  Corps  to  Washington,  which 
with  the  Nineteenth  Corps,  just  arrived  from  New 
Orleans,  proved  sufficient  to  drive  the  enemy  back. 
As  soon  as  Grant  found  that  Early  was  retreating, 
he  ordered  the  troops  back  to  Petersburg  for  the 
purpose  of  making  an  attack  on  Lee  while  weaken- 
ed by  the  absence  of  this  force.  But  before  the 
Sixth  Corps  left  Washington,  he  was  informed 
that  Early  was  returning  down  the  Valley,  and  he 
countermanded  the  order,  and  directed  it  to  return 
to  Harper's  Ferry. 

This  unpropitious  state  of  affairs,  of  course, 
caused  a  great  deal  of  anxiety  throughout  the 
country,  and  Grant  was  overwhelmed  with  visits 
from  Members  of  Congress,  and  other  distinguish- 
ed men,  and  with  letters,  all  wishing  to  know  his 
feelings,  and  what  the  prospects  were  of  success. 
The  following  letter  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Washburne, 
clearly  sets  forth  his  views  at  this  time  of  general 
despondency,  and  reveals  that  calm  courage  and 
confidence  which  never  forsook  him : 


"  HEADQUARTERS  ARMIES  OF  THE  TL  8.,  [ 
CITY  POINT,  VA.,  Aug.  16, 1864.     J 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  I  state  to  all  citizens  who  visit  me,  that 
all  we  want  now,  to  ensure  an  early  restoration  of  the 
Union,  is  a  determined  unity  of  sentiment  North. 

"  The  rebels  have  now  in  their  ranks  their  last  man. 
The  little  boys  and  old  men  are  guarding  prisoners, 
guarding  railroad  bridges,  and  forming  a  good  part  of 


LETTER   TO   WASHBUBNE.  339 

their  garrisons  or  intrenched  positions.  A  man  lost  by 
them  cannot  be  replaced.  They  have  robbed  the  cradle 
and  the  grave  equally  to  get  their  present  force.  Be- 
sides what  they  lose  in  frequent  skirmishes  and  battles, 
they  are  now  losing  from  desertions  and  other  causes,  at 
least  one  regiment  per  day.  With  this  drain  upon  them, 
the  end  is  not  far  distant,  if  we  will  only  be  true  to  our- 
selves. Their  only  hope  now  is  in  a  divided  North. 
This  might  give  them  reinforcements  from  Tennessee, 
Kentucky,  Maryland,  and  Missouri,  while  it  would 
weaken  us.  With  the  draft  quietly  enforced,  the  enemy 
would  become  despondent,  and  would  make  but  little 
resistance. 

"  1  have  no  doubt  but  the  enemy  are  exceedingly  anx- 
ious to  hold  out  until  after  the  Presidential  election. 
They  have  many  hopes  from  its  effects.  They  hope  a 
counter-revolution.  They  hope  the  election  of  the 
Peace  candidate.  In  fact,  like  Micawber,  they  hope  for 
something  to  ( turn  up.'  Our  peace  friends,  if  they 
expect  peace  from  separation,  are  much  mistaken.  It 
would  be  but  the  beginning  of  war,  with  thousands  of 
Northern  men  joining  the  South,  because  of  our  disgrace 
in  allowing  separation.  To  lhave  peace  on  any  terms,' 
the  South  would  demand  the  restoration  of  their  slaves 
already  freed  ;  they  would  demand  indemnity  for  losses 
sustained,  and  they  would  demand  a  treaty  which  would 
make  the  North  slave-hunters  for  the  South;  they 
would  demand  pay  for,  or  the  restoration  of,  every  slave 
escaped  to  the  North." 

In  the  meantime,  the  telegraph  wires  between 
him  and  Washington  being  often  down,  frequently 
causing  a  whole  day  to  elapse  before  his  despatches 
could  be  received  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  he  de- 
termined to  have  all  the  forces  in  West  Virginia, 
Washington,  Susquelianna,  and  the  Middle  De- 
partment placed  under  one  officer,  capable  of  man- 


340  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

aging  affairs  without  particular  and  constant  di- 
rections from  him,  and  on  his  recommendation,  it 
was  done.  He  then  ordered  Sheridan  to  report 
to  Halleck,  for  the  purpose  of  being  on  hand 
when  he  should  be  appointed  to  this  important 
command.  He  himself  left  City  Point  and  visit- 
ed Hunter,  then  encamped  on  the  Monocacy,  and 
after  seeing  for  himself  the  condition  of  things, 
directed  him  to  concentrate  all  his  forces  near 
Harper's  Ferry.  He  no  sooner  saw  the  troops  in 
motion,  than  he  telegraphed  to  Sheridan  to  come 
on  by  the  morning  train,  and  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  army. 

On  the  6th  of  August,  after  a  conversation 
with  him  in  regard  to  the  situation  and  future 
military  operations,  he  returned  to  City  Point, 
feeling  that  the  day  of  blunders  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  was  over.  Knowing,  however,  how  fatal 
to  his  operations  around  Hichmond  a  defeat  here 
would  be,  he  would  not  permit  Sheridan  to  bring 
on,  as  he  wished,  a  decisive  battle  with  Early. 
But  Sheridan  was  impatient,  and  confident  also 
of  success,  and  Grant,  feeling  that  it  was  impor- 
tant to  relieve  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  from 
the  constant  danger  of  invasion,  and  at  the  same 
time  obtain  full  control  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad,  and  Chesapeake  Canal,  at  last  deter- 
mined to  accede  to  his  wishes.  But,  knowing 
that  Lee's  object  in  manoeuvring  in  the  Shenaix- 


SHERIDAN    DEFEATS   EARLY.  341 

doah  Valley  was  to  draw  his  army  away  from 
Richmond,  and  hence  that  it  was  of  vital  import- 
ance that  no  risk  of  defeat  should  be  taken,  he  con- 
cluded not  to  telegraph  the  permission  to  Sheri- 
dan to  bring  on  a  battle,  but  go  on  himself  and 
l;ake  a  minute  survey  of  the  position  of  the  two 
armies.  He  left  City  Point  in  the  middle  of  Sep- 
t'  mber,  and  met  Sheridan  at  Charlestown.  The 
latter  was  very  positive  and  decided  in  his  views, 
and  Grant  said,  u  he  pointed  out  so  distinctly  how 
each  army  lay  :  what  he  would  do  the  moment  he 
was  authorized  to  move,  and  expressed  such  confi- 
dence of  success,  that  I  saw  that  but  two  words  of 
instructions  were  necessary :  '  Go  in ! '  I  asked  him 
if  he  could  get  out  his  teams  and  supplies  in  time 
to  make  an  attack  on  the  ensuing  Tuesday  morn- 
ing. His  reply  was,  that  he  could,  before  day- 
light Monday  morning.  He  was  off  promptly  to 
time,  and  I  may  add,  that  the  result  was  such 
that  I  have  never  since  deemed  it  necessary  to 
visit  General  Sheridan  before  giving  him  orders." 
The  latter  soon  sent  Early  "  whirling  through 
Winchester.1'  His  decisive  victory  put  an  entirely 
different  face  on  matters  about  Biehmond,  for  in- 
stead of  Grant  being  called  upon  for  reinforcements 
for  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Lee  was ;  and  troops 
that  he  had  designed  to  operate  in  the  region  of 
Culpepper  and  Alexandria,  had  to  be  forwarded 
to  Early.  Thus  strengthened,  the  latter  again 


342  LITE   OF  GRANT. 

moved  down  the  Valley,  and  though  beaten  again, 
finally,  on  the  19th  of  October,  fell  on  our  army 
before  daylight,  while  Sheridan  was  absent,  and 
swept  its  camps  like  a  whirlwind.  The  timely  ar- 
rival of  Sheridan,  however,  restored  the  battle,  and 
the  enemy,  beaten  and  routed,  was  driven  from 
the  Valley  forever.  This  overwhelming  victory 
sealed  the  fate  of  Richmond.  If  Early  had  con- 
quered, more  troops  than  Grant  could  spare  would 
have  had  to  be  sent  away  from  the  siege,  but  now 
he  gathered  the  reinforcements  to  himself. 

He  now  determined,  if  possible,  to  sweep  around 
Lee's  right  flank,  and  get  possession  of  the  South 
Side  Railroad,  running  into  Richmond.  So,  on 
the  27th  of  October,  he  despatched  the  Second 
Corps  under  Warren,  and  two  divisions  of  the 
Fifth  Corps,  with  a  force  of  cavalry  in  advance, 
to  force  Hatcher's  Run,  lying  beyond  the  extrem- 
ity of  his  line,  on  the  left.  The  movement  was 
successful,  and  the  advance  got  within  six  miles 
of  the  railroad,  but  Grant,  finding  that  he  had 
been  anticipated  by  Lee,  who  had  erected  strong 
works  in  his  front  to  bar  his  further  progress,  di- 
rected the  troops  to  return.  He  waited  until  it 
was  reported  that  the  two  Corps  had  formed  a 
junction,  when,  feeling  no  further  anxiety,  he  re- 
turned to  his  headquarters.  But  the  report  was 
not  true — the  gap  was  not  closed,  and  the  watch- 
ful enemy  dashed  into  it,  and  a  bloody  combat 


ALMOST   A   DISASTER.  343 

followed.  Hancock  repulsed  him,  though  with 
heavy  loss. 

Butler,  at  the  same  time,  was  directed  to  move 
against  the  enemy  on  the  north  side  of  the  James 
River,  but  no  important  results  were  secured. 
uFrom  this  time  forward,"  says  Grant,  "the 
operations  in  front  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond, 
until  the  spring  campaign  of  1865,  were  confined 
to  the  defence  and  extension  of  our  lines,  and  to 
offensive  movements  for  crippling  the  lines  of  com- 
munication, and  to  prevent  his  detaching  any 
considerable  force  to  send  South."  By  mid- 
winter his  lines  reached  Hatcher's  Run,  while  the 
Weldon  Railroad  was  destroyed  for  many  miles. 

But  during  this  winter,  so  comparatively  quiet, 
an  event  occurred  which  came  very  near  ending 
in  a  disaster  that  would  have  been  almost  irrepa- 
rable. Grant  makes  no  mention  of  it  in  his 
report,  because  it  actually  affected  only  the  navy, 
while  the  naval  report  takes  but  little  notice  of  it, 
because,  so  far  as  the  navy  was  concerned,  but 
little  harm  was  done. 

Lee,  finding  that  he  must  abandon  all  hope  of 
drawing  Grant  away  by  operating  near  Washing- 
ton, conceived  the  daring  plan  of  cutting  off  his 
communications,  and  thus  starving  the  army  into  a 
retreat.  The  absence  of  our  war- vessels  operating 
in  front  of  Fort  Fisher,  furnished  an  opportunity 
to  do  this  which  seemed  to  the  enemy  almost  provi- 


S44  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

dential.  On  the  24th  of  January,  three  iron- 
clads and  three  wooden  vessels,  with  a  flotilla  of 
torpedo-boats,  came  down  the  James  River,  intend- 
ing to  run  the  batteries,  take  City  Point,  and  thus 
cut  off  the  base  of  supplies  for  the  whole  army, 
and  divide  the  forces  north  and  south  of  the 
James.  A  large  rebel  force  was  massed  north  of 
the  river,  to  make  an  overwhelming  assault  on  the 
army  there,  as  soon  as  City  Point  was  reached. 
A  high  tower,  erected  at  the  latter  place  for  ob- 
servation by  Grant,  was  to  be  set  on  fire  as  a  sig- 
nal of  success,  and  at  the  same  time,  of  attack. 
The  vessels  came  boldly  down  in  the  darkness,  and 
it  was  soon  evident  that  we  had  nothing  on  shore 
or  in  the  river  that  could  stop  their  progress,  and 
consternation  seized  our  army  along  the  banks. 
The  Onondaga,  on  guard,  retreated  down  the  river 
without  attempting  a  defence.  By  good  fortune, 
or  rather  through  an  over-ruling  Providence,  the 
iron-clads  ran  aground,  and  were  stopped  midway 
in  their  triumphant  career.  The  country  did  not 
know  what  a  narrow  escape  Grant  and  his  army 
had,  but  the  Government  did.  A  committee  of 
investigation  was  appointed,  and  the  universal  tes- 
timony was,  that  if  these  vessels  had  not  gone 
aground,  the  siege  of  Richmond  would  have  been 
raised,  to  say  nothing  of  the  disasters  that  might 
have  befallen  the  army.  City  Point  once  oc- 
cupied by  the  rebels,  not  a  pound  of  food  could 


DEATH  OF  MCPHEHSOK.  345 

have  reached  our  troops.     Grant  alone  testified 
that  he  did  not  think  the  disaster  would  have  been 
irreparable,  and  he,  only  on  the  single  ground  that 
he  had  provisions  enough  on  hand  to  last,  with 
great  economy,  two  weeks,  and  by  the  end  of  that 
time  he  thought  the  Government  would  have  been 
able  to  re-open  his  communications.     On  the  prob- 
able success  of  outside  efforts  alone,  he  testified, 
he  relied  for  salvation.     What  fearful  issues  hung 
on  the  simple  question,  whether  those  three  iron- 
clads could  clear  the  shoals. 

But  Grant  would  not  have  been  accountable 
for  the  misfortune,  had  it  occurred.  The  navy 
alone  would  have  been  compelled  to  bear  the 
blame. 

But  though  Grant's  plans  had  partially  failed 
in  his  direct  operations  against  Richmond,  they 
had  been  crowned  with  complete  success  in  other 
portions  of  the  extended  field.  Sherman  had, 
during  the  summer,  pushed  his  triumphant  way 
to  Atlanta.  Grant's  delight  at  his  success  was 
marred,  however,  by  a  sad  event — the  death  of 
his  dearest  friend,  McPherson,  who  fell  in  one  of 
the  battles  before  the  place.  When  the  sad  news 
reached  him  his  strong  nature  gave  way,  and 
bursting  into  tears,  he  exclaimed,  "  The  country 
has  lost  one  of  its  best  soldiers,  and  I  have  lost  my 
best  friend." 

McPherson's  grandmother,    aged  eighty-seven 
15* 


346  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

years,  hearing  that  Grant,  when  told  of  his  death, 
retired  to  his  tent  and  wept,  wrote  him  a  letter. 
To  this  the  latter  sent  the  following  tender,  touch- 
ing response : 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMIES  OF  THE  U.  S.,) 
CITY  POINT,  VA.,  Aug.  10,  1864.     ( 
Mrs.  Lydia  Slocum: 

MY  DEAR  MADAM  :  Your  very  welcome  letter  of  the 
3d  instant  has  reached  me.  I  am  glad  to  know  that 
the  relatives  of  the  lamented  Major-General  McPher- 
Bon  are  aware  of  the  more  than  friendship  existing  be- 
tween him  and  myself.  A  nation  grieves  at  the  loss  of 
one  so  dear  to  our  nation's  cause.  It  is  a  selfish  grief, 
because  the  nation  had  more  to  expect  from  him  than 
from  almost  any  one  living.  I  join  in  this  selfish  grief, 
and  add  the  grief  of  personal  love  for  the  departed. 
He  formed,  for  some  time,  one  of  my  military  family. 
I  knew  him  well;  to  know  him  was  to  love.  It  may 
be  some  consolation  to  you,  his  aged  grandmother,  to 
know  that  every  officer  and  every  soldier  who  served 
under  your  grandson  felt  the  highest  reverence  for  his 
patriotism,  his  zeal,  his  great,  almost  unequalled 
ability,  his  amiability,  and  all  the  manly  virtues  that 
can  adorn  a  commander.  Your  bereavement  is  great, 
but  cannot  exceed  mine. 

Yours  truly,  U.  S.  GBAUT. 

Sherman,  having  captured  Atlanta,  wrote  to 
Grant  asking  permission  to  let  Hood  alone,  and 
march  across  the  country  to  Savannah.  Grant, 
in  reply,  asked  him  if  it  did  not  look  as  if 
"  Hood  was  going  to  attempt  the  invasion  of  Mid- 
dle Tennessee,  using  the  Mobile  and  Ohio,  Mem- 
phis and  Charleston  roads,  to  supply  his  base  on 
the  Tennessee  river,  about  Florence  or  Decatur. 


ORDERS   TO   SHERMAN.  347 

If  he  does  this,  he  ought  to  be  met  and  prevented 
from  getting  north  of  the  Tennessee  river.  If 
you  were  to  cut  loose  I  do  not  believe  you  would 
meet  Hood's  army,  but  would  be  bushwhacked  by 
all  the  old  men,  little  boys,  and  such  railroad 
guards  as  are  still  left  at  home.  Hood  would 
probably  strike  for  Nashville,  thinking  that  by 
going  north  he  could  inflict  greater  damage  upon 
us  than  we  could  upon  the  rebels  by  going  south. 
If  there  is  any  way  of  getting  at  Hood's  army  I 
would  prefer  that,  but  I  must  trust  to  your  own 
judgment."  With  that  prescience  which  distin- 
guishes the  great  commander,  he  here  traces  out 
the  exact  course  that  Hood  afterwards  took. 
But  Sherman  still  urged  that  he  might  be  per- 
mitted to  strike  across  the  country,  saying,  "  Hood 
may  turn  into  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  but  I  be- 
lieve he  will  be  forced  to  follow  me."  Grant's 
forecast  was  the  truest,  and  his  plan  unquestionably 
the  safest  and  best  if  any  other  commander  than 
Thomas  had  been  left  to  take  care  of  Hooi  He, 
however,  finally  gave  his  consent  in  the  following 
despatch:  "  Your  despatch  of  to-day  received. 
Tf  you  are  satisfied  the  trip  to  the  sea-coast  can 
be  made  holding  the  line  of  the  Tennessee  river 
firmly,  you  may  make  it,  destroying  all  the  rail- 
roads south  of  Dalton  or  Chattanooga  as  you 
think  best." 
It  was  his  original  design  to  have  Sherman 


348  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

push  through  to  the  sea-coast,  and  thus  cut  the 
Confederacy  in  two ;  but  his  plan  was  to  have 
him  hold  Atlanta,  and  get  through  by  garrisons 
stationed  all  along  the  railroad — Atlanta  being 
the  base — but  not  destroy  it  and  cut  loose  entirely, 
as  he  did. 

When  Hood  finally  started  north,  Grant  said 
he  was  going  to  his  certain  doom  ;  and  that  if  he 
were  directing  his  movements,  he  would  not  alter 
them. 

When  the  rebel  army  finally  appeared  before 
Nashville,  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  Grant 
became  very  anxious  to  have  Thomas  attack  him 
at  once. 

But  though  the  latter  was  to  all  appearance 
ready  to  take  the  field,  he  was  sadly  deficient  in 
cavalry.  He  wished  not  only  to  defeat  Hood, 
but  to  have  the  means  of  pursuing  him  when 
beaten.  Grant  finally  telegraphed  him  that  he 
wished  him  to  move  at  once  upon  the  enemy,  and 
he  replied  that  he  was  not  ready.  Grant  sent 
back  word  that  he  had  more  confidence  in  him 
than  any  other  man,  and  to  take  his  own  time  ; 
still,  he  would  like  to  know  the  reasons  of  his  de- 
lay. But  Thomas,  determined  that  in  no  way 
should  these  reasons  leak  out  on  the  road,  did 
not  give  them. 

Grant,  fearing  that  Hood  would  leave  Nash- 
ville and  cross  the  Cumberland  into  Kentucky, 


CAPTURE   OF  FORT   FISHER.  349 

felt  so  impatient  at  Thomas'  delay,  that  he  left 
City  Point  and  started  west,  to  superintend  mat- 
ters  in  person.  He  never  could  stay  away  from 
any  point,  whether  in  battle  or  out  of  it,  when 
the  danger  was  pressing.  But  when  he  reached 
Washington,  he  met  the  despatch  of  Thomas  an- 
nouncing his  victory.  "I  was  delighted,"  he 
says ;  "all  fears  and  apprehensions  were  dispelled." 
He,  however,  still  thinks  that  it  would  have  been 
better,  had  Thomas  attacked  Hood  before  he  had 
time  to  fortify;  but  says  in  his  frank,  generous 
way,  "  his  final  defeat  of  Hood  was  so  complete, 
that  it  will  be  accepted  as  a  vindication  of  that  dis- 
tinguished officer's  judgment."  This  victory,  and 
Sherman's  triumphant  entrance  into  Savannah, 
lighted  up  the  winter  to  Grant  at  City  Point,  and 
made  him  see  clearly  the  approaching  end  of  the 
struggle. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Fisher  was  another  bright 
gleam  above  the  horizon.  In  the  first  expedition 
against  this  stronghold,  Grant,  in  furnishing  the 
land  forces,  designated  Weitzel  to  command  them ; 
but  they  being  taken  from  Butler's  army,  he,  of 
course,  sent  his  instructions  through  the  latter 
officer.  These  did  "  riot  order  an  assault,  but  said, 
the  first  object  is  to  close  to  the  enemy  the  port 
of  Wilmington,  which  as  yet  had  not  been  done." 
But  Butler  never  gave  these  instructions  to 
Weitzel  at  all ;  and  the  latter  told  Grant  he  was 


350  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

not  aware  of  their  existence  until  he  saw  them  in 
Butler's  official  report  of  the  failure  of  the  expe- 
dition. 

Butler  quietly  pocketed  them,  and  coolly  took 
command  himself.  Grant  says,  "  I  had  no  idea 
of  General  Butler's  accompanying  the  expedition 
until  the  evening  before  it  got  off  from  Bermuda 
Hundred ;  and  then  did  not  dream  but  that 
General  Weitzel  had  received  all  the  instructions, 
and  would  be  in  command."  He  thought,  he 
said,  "that  he  was  going  to  witness  the  effect  of 
the  explosion  of  the  powder  boat."  Grant's  in- 
dignation was  aroused  at  this  bold  contempt  of 
his  orders  and  breach  of  military  discipline  that 
deserved  a  court  martial,  and  soon  after  put  Ord 
in  his  place. 

Porter,  who  would  not  retire  from  before  the 
fort,  after  Butler  withdrew  the  army,  wrote  to 
Grant  that  it  could  be  taken ;  and  so  the  latter 
sent  another  force,  under  General  Terry  as  com- 
mander. This  expedition  succeeded,  and  Wil- 
mington soon  after  fell 

Sherman  having  reached  Savannah,  Grant 
sent  a  despatch  to  him,  in  which  he  gave  direc- 
tions "  that  after  establishing  a  base  on  the  sea- 
coast,  with  necessary  garrisons  to  include  all  his 
artillery  and  cavalry,  to  come  by  water  to  City 
Point  with  the  balance  of  his  command."  But 
finding  it  difficult  to  get  ocean  transportation,  and 


HOOD    DEFEATED.  351 

seeing  that  it  would  take  two  months  to  bring  the 
array  on,  he  changed  his  mind  and  thought  Sher- 
man might,  perhaps,  better  operate  from  where 
he  was.  But  in  the  meantime  he  received  a  letter 
from  him  sketching  his  daring  plan  of  marching 
up  by  land,  and  forming  a  junction  with  him  be- 
fore Richmond.  His  confidence  that  he  could  do 
so  pleased  Grant,  and  he  immediately  sent  back 
a  despatch  directing  him  to  carry  out  his  owr 
plan. 

The  total  rout  of  Hood  in  Tennessee  removed 
all  danger  from  the  enemy  in  that  quarter,  and 
released  the  troops  under  Thomas  so  that  they 
could  be  used  elsewhere,  and  Grant  now  ordered 
Schofield,  with  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  number- 
ing twenty-one  thousand  men,  east,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  an  advance  inland — either  from 
Wilmington  or  Newbern,  toward  Goldsboro1,  to 
cooperate  with  Sherman's  movements.  Helping 
to  reduce  the  former  place,  Schofield  was  direc- 
ted to  make  it  his  base  of  operations,  while  an- 
other column  pushed  inland  from  Newbern.  In 
addition  to  this,  Grant  directed  Thomas  to  send 
Gen.  Stoneman  with  a  large  cavalry  force  across 
the  mountains  into  South  Carolina,  to  destroy 
railroads  arid  material  of  war,  and  at  the  same 
time  release  our  prisoners  at  Salisbury,  N.  C. 
But  Sherman's  rapid  march  north  caused  a  change 
in  this  plan,  and  Stoneman  was  directed  to  oper- 


352  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

ate  against  the  railroad  toward  Lynchburg.  This 
concentric  movement  of  various  forces  shows  the 
comprehensiveness  of  Grant's  mind,  and  the  re- 
morseless energy  and  determination  with  which 
he  pushed  his  adversary.  The  heavens  were 
gathering  blacker  than  midnight  above  Lee,  and 
it  thundered  all  around  the  horizon. 

While  thus  concentrating  his  own  forces,  Grant, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  doing  the  same 
by  bringing  up  reinforcements  from  the  extreme 
South,  ordered  Canby,  who  had  relieved  Banks, 
to  organize  an  expedition  against  Mobile.  "This," 
Grant  wrote  to  Thomas,  "  will  attract  all  the  at- 
tention of  the  enemy,  and  leave  an  advance  from 
your  stand-point  easy.  I  think  it  advisable,  there- 
fore," he  said,  "  that  you  prepare  as  much  of  a  cav- 
alry force  as  you  can  spare,  and  hold  it  in  readi- 
ness to  go  South."  He  designed  to  have  this 
force  push  deep  into  Alabama,  destroying  the 
rebel  communications,  and  dispersing  and  cap- 
turing detached  bodies  of  the  enemy. 

The  armies  East  and  West  under  his  hand  had 
not  proved  a  balky  team,  but  had  pulled  steadily 
together,  and  were  now,  at  a  rapid  pace,  nearing 
the  goal. 

From  this  brief  sketch  of  the  various  plans  of 
Grant  and  the  movements  he  set  on  foot  during 
this  winter,  how  like  a  single  machine  our  vast 
and  scattered  forces  appear  in  his  grasp  I 


THE   END   APPROACHING.  353 

iated  by  thousands  of  miles — lofty  mountains  and 
broad  rivers  intervening, — yet  all  like  so  many 
wheels  obeying  a  central  force  till  one  could  al- 
most count  the  days  when  the  iron  walls  would 
close  forever  around  Confederacy. 

Success  now  did  not  depend  on  any  great  pitch- 
ed battle,  though  it  might  be  hastened  by  one. 
It  was  secure,  whether  that  was  fought  or  not. 
There  was  a  mathematical  certainty  about  it  that 
must  ha  ye  been  appalling  to  Lee.  Grant's  move- 
ments were  like  the  finger  on  the  dial-plate  of  a 
clock,  moving  round  with  a  uniform,  steady  mo- 
tion, until  the  given  hour  is  reached,  when  the  re- 
lentless hammer  will  strike. 

In  order  to  assist  Sherman,  who  was  compara- 
tively weak  hi  cavalry,  Grant,  while  these  various 
movements  were  being  set  on  foot,  directed  Sheri- 
dan, who  also  was  foot-loose  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  to  push  on  to  Lynchburg,  and  after  destroy- 
ing the  railroad  and  canal,  endeavor  by  heading 
the  streams  to  reach  Sherman  toiling  up  from 
Savannah. 

Sheridan,  with  twenty  thousand  cavalry,  started 
on  the  27th  of  February,  and  pushed  on  to  Lynch- 
burg ;  but  the  enemy  burning  the  bridges  over 
the  James  River,  he  could  not  get  across,  and  so, 
after  destroying  every  thing  within  his  reach, 
moved  down  the  north  bank  of  the  stream  toward 
Richmond — causing  the  wildest  consternation  in 


354  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

the  capital.  Columns  were  at  once  hurried  off 
to  meet  this  new  danger,  but  Sheridan  sweeping 
swiftly  across  the  country  reached  the  White 
House  in  safety.  After  resting  here  awhile,  he 
crossed  the  James  River  and  joined  Grant. 

Every  thing  now  was  moving  but  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac — Sherman  was  at  Goldsboro',  Canby 
thundering  at  the  gates  of  Mobile,  while  two  cav- 
alry expeditions  were  afoot,  one  pushing  into 
Alabama,  and  the  other  towards  Lynchburg. 
Grant  saw  that  the  time  to  strike,  at  last  had 
come.  In  the  meantime  the  President  visited 
him  at  headquarters.  Not  expecting  to  do  so,  he 
sometime  previous  wrote  him  the  following  en- 
couraging letter : 

** Lieutenant- General  Grant: 

"  Not  expecting  to  see  you  before  the  spring  cam- 
paign opens,  1  wish  to  express,  in  this  way,  my  entire 
satisfaction  with  what  you  have  done  up  to  this  time, 
BO  far  as  1  understand  it.  The  particulars  of  your  plans  I 
neither  know  nor  seek  to  know.  You  are  vigilant  and 
self-reliant;  and,  pleased  with  this,  I  wish  not  to  ob- 
trude any  restraints  or  constraints  upon  you.  While 
I  am  very  anxious  that  any  great  disaster  or  capture  of 
our  men  in  great  numbers  shall  be  avoided,  1  know 
that  these  points  are  less  likely  to  escape  your  attention 
than  they  would  be  mine.  If  there  be  anything  want- 
ing which  is  within  my  power  to  give,  do  not  fail  to 
let  me  know  it.  And  now,  with  a  brave  army  and  a 
just  cause,  may  God  sustain  you. 

"  lours,  very  truly,  A.  LINCOLN." 


LETTER  TO  THE    PRESIDENT.  355 

Touched  with  this  mark  of  confidence,  Grant 
returned  the  following  frank,  characteristic  reply : 

"  The  President  : 

"  Your  very  kind  letter  of  yesterday  is  just  received. 
The  confidence  you  express  for  the  future,  and  satisfac- 
tion for  the  past,  in  my  military  administration,  is  ac- 
knowledged with  pride.  It  shall  be  my  earnest  endeavor 
that  you  and  the  country  shall  not  be  disappointed.  From 
my  first  entrance  into  the  volunteer  service  of  the  coun- 
try to  the  present  day,  I  have  never  had  cause  of  com- 
plaint, have  never  expressed  or  implied  a  complaint 
against  the  Administration,  or  the  Secretary  of  War, 
for  throwing  any  embarrassment  in  the  way  of  my  vig- 
orously prosecuting  what  appeared  to  be  my  duty.  In- 
deed, since  the  promotion  which  placed  me  in  command 
of  all  the  armies,  and  in  view  of  the  great  responsibili- 
ty aM  importance  of  success,  I  have  been  astonished 
at  the  readiness  with  which  every  thing  asked  for  has 
been  yielded,  without  even  an  explanation  being  asked. 

"  Should  my  success  be  less  than  I  desire  and  ex- 
pect, the  least  I  can  say  is,  the  fault  is  not  with  you. 
"  Very  truly,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieut.-GeneraL" 

Sherman  also  came  up  from  Goldsboro1,  to  con- 
sult with  him  about  his  plans.  The  latter  told 
him  the  army  was  about  to  move  around  Lee's 
right — to  turn  Petersburg,  and  assist  Sheridan, 
who  would  be  sent  with  a  strong  force  of  cavalry 
to  destroy  the  South  Side  and  Danville  railroads, 
and  thus  cut  off  Lee's  supplies.  He  therefore  di- 
rected him  to  march  north  towards  Dinwiddie 
Court  Ilouse,  to  cooperate  with  this  movement 
The  latter  hurried  back,  while  Grant  issued  his 


356  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

orders  for  his  army  to  move.*  He  had,  as  he  says, 
u  spent  days  of  anxiety  lest  each  morning  should 
bring  the  report  that  the  enemy  had  retreated  the 
night  before."  His  various  movements  had  been 
organized  at  such  vast  distances,  thus  giving  pre- 
monitions of  their  character  so  long  beforehand, 
that  he  felt  that  a  skilful  commander  like  Lee, 
would  not  remain  to  be  cooped  up  in  Richmond 
and  starved  to  death,  but  retreat  in  time  to  effect  a 
junction  with  Johnston  operating  against  Sher- 
man. If  he  succeeded  hi  this,  a  new  campaign 
would  have  to  be  organized,  and  hence  new  de- 
lays become  inevitable. 

There  has  never  been  given  a  satisfactory  expla- 
nation for  Lee's  strange  conduct  in  madly  clinging 
to  Richmond  until  escape  was  impossible.  Doubt- 
less one  great  reason  was,  consciousness  of  his 
inability  to  hold  his  army  together  the  moment 
it  was  put  on  the  march  from  the  abandoned 
capital. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

THE  LAST  GREAT  MOVEMENT. 

Attack  of  Lee — Sheridan's  Orders — The  Movement  Begun — Sheri- 
dan's Orders  revoked — Grant  changes  his  Plan  and  resolves 
"  to  Finish  the  Job"— Battle  of  Five  Forks— Storming  of  the 
"Works — The  Victory — Evacuation  of  Richmond  ordered — 
Davis  receives  the  News  in  Church — Incredulity  of  the  People — 
Scene  in  the  Capital — Terrific  Scene  in  the  Streets — Blowing- 
up  of  the  Rebel  Iron-clads— Burning  of  the  Bridges  and  Ware- 
houses— The  City  takes  fire — A  maddened  Populace — Weitzel 
and  Ewell — Their  Regimental  Bands— The  Morning — Entering 
the  City — The  Conflagration  continues — The  Capitol-square  at 
Night. 

GRANT'S  order  to  Meade  for  the  great  final 
movement  was  dated  March  24th.  By  a  singular 
coincidence,  the  very  next  day  Lee  assumed  the 
offensive,  and  made  a  bold  dash  on  Grant's  lines 
South  of  the  Appomattox  River,  and  directly  in 
front  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  and  actually  broke 
through,  carrying  Fort  Steadman,  and  turned  its 
guns  upon  our  troops.  But  the  force  on  either 
flank  held  its  ground,  while  the  rebel  soldiers 
could  not  be  induced  to  leave  the  breastworks  to 
charge  again  our  broken  lines.  Reserves  being 
brought  up,  they  were  driven  out,  and  their  own 
intrenched  picket-line  seized  and  held,  though  Lee 
made  desperate  efforts  to  retake  it 


358  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

This  bold  attack  of  Lee  was  the  last  expiring 
blow  of  a  dying  man,  and  must  have  been  made 
with  the  desperate  feeling  of  a  gambler  when  he 
stakes  his  last  dollar;  for  the  three  or  four  thousand 
men  he  lost  here  he  could  illy  spare.  Four  days 
after,  Sheridan  moved  off  to  execute  the  task  assign- 
ed him,  while  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Corps  followed 
after.  That  night  he  was  at  Dinwiddie  Court 
House,  with  the  infantry  well  up,  and  Grant  saw 
himself  in  a  favorable  position  u  to  end  the  mat- 
ter," as  he  said,  and  he  wrote  to  Sheridan  that 
"he  felt  like  it"  and  therefore  to  abandon  his  raid 
on  the  railroads  for  the  present,  and,  instead  of 
cutting  loose  from  the  army,  as  he  had  directed 
him  to  do,  to  cooperate  with  it,  and  push  on 
around  the  enemy  to  his  rear.  For  two  days  it 
now  rained  incessantly,  turning  roads  and  fields 
into  a  quagmire,  and  making  it  well-nigh  impos- 
sible to  move  any  thing  on  wheels.  The  next 
day,  however,  Sheridan  advanced  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Five  Forks,  where  he  found  the  enemy  in 
force,  while  everywhere  along  the  new  line  occu- 
pied by  the  infantry,  the  same  state  of  things 
existed.  Grant  seeing  this,  and  knowing  that  if 
he  had  been  correctly  informed  of  the  strength  of 
Lee's  army,  he  could  not  man  properly  his  extend- 
ed lines,  reaching  from  Richmond  to  his  present  ex- 
treme right — he  determined  therefore  to  push 
his  own  line  no  farther  to  the  left,  but  detach 


THE   ASSAULT.  359 

one  corps  with  Sheridan  to  turn  the  rebel  flank, 
while  he  moved  boldly  to  the  assault  in  front, 
and  "  end  the  matter. " 

More  or  less  fighting  now  occurred,  to  get  in 
proper  position  ;  but  on  the  1st  of  April  Sheridan, 
with  the  aid  of  Warren,  captured  the  position  at 
Five  Forks,  with  all  the  artillery  and  five  or  six 
thousand  prisoners.  The  remainder  of  the  force, 
instead  of  falling  back  on  the  main  army,  turned 
westward,  and,  panic-stricken  and  demoralized, 
fled  in  every  direction.  Thus,  at  one  fell  blow, 
Lee  saw  his  right  wing  "  violently  wrenched  from 
his  centre."  He  was  aroused  as  by  a  thunder- 
clap at  the  fatal  news.  Grant  received  Sheri- 
dan's despatch  that  evening,  and  knowing  what  a 
terrible  blow  it  was  to  Lee,  feared  he  would 
retreat  in  the  night-time,  and  falling  on  Sheridan 
as  he  did  so,  overwhelm  him.  He  therefore  in- 
stantly started  off  Miles'  division  to  reinforce  him, 
while  he  ordered  all  the  guns  in  position  to  open 
on  the  works  in  front,  and  keep  up  the  bombard- 
ment till  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  which 
time  the  assault  was  ordered. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  the  attacking  col- 
umns moved  gallantly  forward,  and  Wright  and 
Ord  carried  every  thing  before  them  on  their  side. 
Parke  broke  the  main  line  in  his  front,  but  could 
not  carry  the  inner  one,  while  Gibbon  got  posses- 
sion of  two  strong  works.  But  inner  works  were 


3GO  LIFE   OF   GKANT. 

still  held,  where  the  enemy  rallied — and  amid 
shouts  and  yells,  and  roar  of  cannon,  and  vollies 
of  musketry,  a  terrible  conflict  went  on,  especially 
around  Fort  Gregg,  until  Sheridan,  swooping 
down  from  the  left,  and  a  force  sent  by  Meade 
from  the  front  of  Petersburg,  closed  in  in  that 
direction,  shut  down  like  the  door  of  fate  on 
the  diminished  garrisons,  when  they  broke  and 
fled  in  confusion. 

EVACUATION  OF  RICHMOND. 

These  successes  around  Petersburg  settled  the 
fate  of  Richmond,  arid  Lee  sent  a  despatch  to  the 
War  Department  to  have  every  thing  in  readiness 
to  evacuate  it.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  in- 
habitants were  totally  ignorant  of  the  terrible 
struggle  which  had  been  going  on  for  the  last 
three  days  between  the  two  armies.  The  latest 
news  from  the  front  was  that  Lee,  in  a  night 
attack,  had  defeated  Grant  with  heavy  loss — hence 
they  were  wholly  unprepared  for  the  appalling 
tidings  that  awaited  them.  "John  M.  Daniel, 
editor  of  the  Richmond  Examiner,  died  that  day, 
under  the  delusion  that  such  a  victory  had  been 
won,  arid  John  Mitchell,  who  wrote  his  obituary 
in  the  papers,  expressed  the  regret  that  the  great 
Virginian  had  passed  away  just  as  a  decisive  vic- 
tory was  likely  to  give  the  turning-point  to  the 
success  of  the  Southern  Confederacy." 


EVACUATION    OF    RICHMOND.  361 

Davis  was  at  church,  when  a  messenger  entered 
the  aisle,  and  walking  rapidly  up  to  the  pew  in 
which  he  sat,  handed  him  a  slip  of  paper  con- 
taining Lee's  despatch.  Outwardly  it  seemed  a 
slight  event,  but  it  struck  deep  as  a  bullet  and  as 
deadly,  into  the  heart  of  the  rebel  president. 
Though  with  a  strong  effort  he  mastered  his  emo- 
tions, his  cheek  blanched  at  the  terrible  tidings ; 
for  he  knew  it  to  be  the  handwriting  on  the  wall 

The  services  had  hardly  closed,  when  it  was 
evident  from  the  faces  of  the  few  people  seen  in  the 
quiet  streets,  that  ominous  tidings  were  in  the  air. 
The  church-bells  pealed  their  Sabbath  tones  as 
usual — the  breath  of  spring  stole  softly  in  from 
the  distant  fields,  and  all  was  peaceful  as  the 
day  of  rest  should  be.  Still,  a  strange  sense 
of  coming  evil  began  to  be  felt;  for  rumors 
were  afloat  of  some  dire  impending  calam- 
ity. At  length  these  began  to  assume  shape,  and 
white  lips  whispered  in  incredulous,  astonished 
ears,  that  the  city  was  to  be  given  up  to  the 
enemy.  Some  smiled  in  unbelief,  some  laughed 
outright,  at  the  absurd  report ;  while  even  to  the 
believing  it  seemed  hardly  possible,  as  they  heard 
the  bells  sweetly  chiming,  and  saw  women  and 
children  wending  their  way  in  tranquil  security 
to  church,  that  conquering  battalions  were  about 
to  shout  along  those  streets.  But  ollicers  gal- 
loping through  them,  and  the  din  of  preparation 
10 


862  LIFE   OF  GftAtft. 

going  on  in  various  quarters,  soon  dispelled  all 
doubt;  and  then  disorder  and  tumult  swelled 
along  every  avenue.  The  change  from  the  deep 
repose  of  Sabbath  to  the  wild  alarm  and  up- 
roar that  followed,  was  appalling.  Crowds,  heav- 
ing in  fierce  agitation,  poured  along  the  streets — 
army  wagons,  loaded  with  boxes  and  trunks, 
drove  furiously  towards  the  Danville  Depot ;  pale 
women  and  ragged  children  streamed  after,  going 
they  knew  not  whither ;  excited  men  filled  the  air 
with  blasphemies,  while  the  more  desperate  surged 
up  around  the  commissary  depots,  awaiting  the 
signal  for  pillage.  There  was  no  order — no  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  any  one  to  enforce  it.  Says 
one  of  their  own  writers :  u  The  only  convocation, 
the  only  scene  of  council  that  marked  the  fall  of 
Richmond,  took  place  in  a  dingy  room  in  a  corner 
of  the  upper  story  of  the  Capitol  Building.  In 
this  obscure  chamber  assembled  the  city  council 
of  Richmond,  to  consult  on  the  emergency,  and 
to  take  measures  to  secure  what  of  order  was  pos- 
sible in  the  scenes  about  to  ensue.  It  appeared 
to  represent  all  that  was  left  of  deliberation  in  the 
Confederate  capital.  It  was  a  painful  contrast  to 
look  upon  this  scene,  to  traverse  the  now  almost 
silent  Capitol  House,  so  often  vocal  with  oratory 
and  crowded  with  the  busy  scenes  of  legislation  ; 
to  hear  the  echo  of  the  footstep,  and  at  last  to 
climb  to  the  dismal  show  of  couuci  linen  in  the 


EVACUATION    OF    RICHMOND.  363 

remote  room,  where  a  half  dozen  sat  at  a  rude 
table,  and  not  so  many  vacant  idlers  listened  to 
their  proceedings.  At  the  head  of  the  board  sat 
an  illiterate  groeor,  of  the  name  of  Saunders,  who 
was  making  his  last  exhibition  of  Southern  spirit; 
and  twenty-four  hours  thereafter  was  subscribing 
himself  to  some  very  petty  Federal  officer,  '  most 
respectfully  your  most  obedient  servant.'  Here 
and  there,  hurrying  up  with  the  latest  news  from 
the  War  Department,  was  Mayor  Mayo — excited, 
incoherent — chewing  tobacco  defiantly ;  but  yet 
full  of  pluck,  having  the  mettle  of  the  true  Vir- 
ginia gentleman,  stern  and  watchful  to  the  last,  in 
fidelity  to  the  city  that  his  ancestors  had  assisted 
in  founding,  and  exhibiting,  no  matter  in  what  com- 
ical aspects,  a  courage  that  no  man  ever  doubted." 
Such  is  the  picture  of  the  official  proceedings 
that  dignified  the  downfall  of  the  haughty  rebel  cap- 
ital Humiliating  as  it  is,  it  stands  out  in  bright 
relief  as  contrasted  with  the  scene  that  took  place 
outside  of  the  building.  There  the  strong  hand 
of  military  power  was  at  last  withdrawn  —  the 
breathless  fear  of  unsparing  despotism  gone — the 
last  restraint  even  of  common  humanity  removed, 
arid  wild  terror  held  high  carnival  in  the  doomed 
capital,  over  whose  dwellings  arose  a  fearful  and 
confused  murmur — the  prelude  of  the  corning 
storm.  The  excitement  and  tumult  growing 
fiercer  as  evening  drew  on,  the  mayor  attempted 


364  LIFE   OF   GRAtfT 

to  restore  order  by  calling  out  two  regiments  of 
militia  and  establishing  patrols,  and  destroying 
all  the  liquor  in  the  stores  and  warehouses ;  but 
militia  and  patrols,  as  soon  as  darkness  closed 
over  the  city,  became  swallowed  up  in  the  mad- 
dened throng  that  surged  unchecked  through  the 
streets.  The  gutters  ran  with  liquor,  and  drunken, 
frenzied  men  reeled,  with  hideous  blasphemies  on 
their  lips,  along  the  side-walks  that  were  loaded 
with  broken  glass  and  the  contents  of  pillaged 
stores.  Wild  cries  of  distress  mingled  with  the 
horrid  oaths  that  made  night  hideous,  and  the 
city  became  a  scene  of  horror  and  terror  inde- 
scribable. But  as  if  this  were  not  enough,  General 
Ewell,  commanding  Lee's  rear-guard  north  of  the 
James,  blew  up  the  iron-clad  vessels  in  the  river ; 
and  before  the  earthquake  shock  had  hardly 
passed  away,  the  three  bridges  that  spanned  the 
stream  were  ablaze,  ribbing  the  darkness  with 
their  long  lines  of  flame.  The  next  moment,  four 
huge  tobacco  warehouses  were  wrapped  in  fire, 
shooting  murky  clouds  of  smoke  and  fiery  sparks 
into  the  heavens.  The  neighboring  houses  caught 
fire;  and  the  conflagration  passing  all  control, 
raged  unchecked  along  the  streets,  and  roared  like 
the  ocean  over  the  abandoned  city.  As  the  light 
fell  on  the  terror-stricken  or  ferocious  faces  of  the 
yelling  crowd,  it  seemed  as  if  the  infernal  depths 
had  vomited  up  its  inhabitants. 


ENTRANCE  OF  THE  FEDERALS.       365 

But  while  this  frightful  scene  was  going  on  in 
the  city,  outside,  the  air  was  filled  with  strains  of 
music.  Weitzel,  who  commanded  our  forces  on 
the  north  side  of  the  James,  in  front  of  whom  was 
Ewell's  rear-guard,  had  been  directed  by  Grant  to 
make  as  great  a  demonstration  as  possible.  He, 
therefore,  as  night  closed  in,  set  all  his  regimental 
bands  playing.  Ewell  ordered  his  own  to  re- 
spond ;  and  hour  after  hour  the  melodious  strains 
echoed  through  the  night,  presenting  a  strange 
contrast  to  the  savage  yells  and  tumult  within. 
But  at  midnight  the  music  suddenly  ceased,  and 
Ewell  quietly  withdrew ;  while  Weitzel  gazed  hi 
astonishment  and  doubt  on  the  lurid  heavens 
above  the  Capital. 

When  morning  broke  he  found  that  the  enemy 
in  his  front  was  gone,  and  he  immediately  sent 
forward  a  body  of  horse  to  reconnoitre. 

The  sun  was  a  little  over  an  hour  high  when 
these  troopers,  forty  in  number,  appeared  in  Main 
street.  Suddenly  the  cry  of  "  Yankees ! "  "  The 
Yankees  are  come ! "  swept  in  wild  clamor  up  the 
street,  the  upper  end  of  which  was  choked  with  a 
crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children — some  with 
carts,  others  rolling  along  barrels,  or  staggering 
under  the  weight  of  plunder. 

As  the  shout  of  "  Yankees "  smote  their  ears, 
these  rushed  away  in  terror,  cursing  and  tramp- 
ling on  each  other  in  savage  fury.  The  troop 


366  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

walked  their  horses  till  they  reached  the  cornet 
of  Eleventh  Street,  when  they  broke  into  a  trot 
for  the  Public  Square,  and  riding  straight  up  to 
the  Capitol  planted  their  guidons  on  its  top,  where 
they  fluttered  proudly  in  the  breeze.  A  few 
hours  later,  the  heads  of  Weitzel's  columns  ap- 
peared in  the  streets.  Says  a  lady  who  witnessed 
the  entrance:  "Stretching  from  the  Exchange 
Hotel  to  the  slope  of  Church  Hill,  down  the  hill, 
through  the  valley,  up  the  ascent  to  the  hotel,  was 
the  array,  with  its  unbroken  line  of  blue,  fringed 
with  bright  bayonets.  Strains  of  martial  music, 
flushed  countenances,  waving  swords,  betokened 
the  victorious  army.  As  the  line  turned  at  the 
Exchange  Hotel  into  the  upper  street,  the  move- 
ment was  the  signal  for  a  wild  burst  of  cheers 
from  each  regiment  Shouts  from  a  few  negroes 
were  the  only  response.  Through  throngs  of  sul- 
len spectators,  along  the  line  of  fire,  in  the  midst 
of  the  horrors  of  a  conflagration  increased  by  the 
explosion  of  shells  left  by  the  retreating  army, 
through  curtains  of  smoke,  through  the  vast  aerial 
auditorium  convulsed  with  the  commotion  cf 
frightful  sounds,  moved  the  gay  procession  cf 
the  grand  army,  with  horse,  music,  and  bright 
banners,  and  wild  cheers.  A  regiment  of  negro 
cavalry  swept  by  the  hotel.  As  they  turned  the 
street-corner  they  drew  their  sabres  with  sav- 
age shouts,  and  the  blood  mounted  even  in 


CONFLAGRATION.  367 

my   woman's    heart  with   quick   throbs   of   de- 
fiance." 

Meanwhile  the  conflagration  raged  with  un- 
checked fury.  The  entire  business  part  of  the 
city  was  on  fire — stores,  warehouses,  manufacto- 
ries, mills,  depots,  and  bridges,  covering  acres  of 
ground,  were  in  flames,  while  the  continuous 
thunder  of  exploding  shells  added  ten-fold  to  the 
horrors  of  the  scene.  All  during  the  forenoon, 
flame  and  smoke  and  showers  of  blazing  sparks 
filled  the  air,  spreading  still  further  the  destruc- 
tion until  every  bank,  every  auction  store,  every 
insurance  office,  nearly  every  commission  house, 
and  most  of  the  fashionable  stores,  were  a  heap 
of  smouldering  ruins.  The  atmosphere  was  so 
choking  that  "  men,  women  and  children  crowded 
into  the  square  of  the  capital  for  a  breath  of  pure 
air ;  and  one  traversed  the  green  slopes  blinded 
by  cinders  and  struggling  for  breath.  Already 
piles  of  furniture  had  been  collected  there,  dragged 
from  the  ruins  of  burning  houses,  and  in  uncouth 
arrangements  made  with  broken  tables  and 
bureaus,  were  huddled  women  and  children  with 
no  other  resting-place  in  Heaven's  great  hollow- 
ness.11  Deep  apathetic  silence  visited  the  city  at 
night  after  the  fire  had  burned  itself  out,  and 
clouds  of  black  smoke  like  a  funeral  pall  hung 
over  the  smouldering  ruins. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

THE  RETREAT  AND  SURRENDER. 

Tho  Pursuit — Swift  Marching — Sheridan's  Victory  over  EweF  — 
Lee  cut  off  from  Burkesville — Endeavors  to  reach  Lynchburg — 
Grant's  Letter  to  Sherman — Lee  leaves  the  Highway,  and  takes 
to  the  Thickets — Headed  off  by  Sheridan — Grant  addresses  a 
Note  to  Lee  asking  him  to  surrender — The  Reply — Correspon- 
dence— Lee  resolves  to  cut  his  way  through  Sheridan's  Cav- 
alry— The  Attempt  abandoned — Lee  seeks  an  Interview  with 
Grant — Description  of  the  Meeting — The  Surrender  of  the  Army 
agreed  upon — The  Surrender — Grant  visits  Washington — The 
President  tells  him  a  Dream—Is  sent  down  to  receive  the  Sur- 
render of  Johnston — The  Army  starts  for  Home — Grand  Review 
in  the  Capital. 

WHILE  this  terrific  scene  was  being  enacted 
in  the  rebel  capital,  the  fugitive  president  was 
fleeing  for  his  life,  and  the  disorganized  army  of 
Lee  was  crowding  along  the  highways  and  fields 
to  escape  the  remorseless  pursuit  of  Grant. 
Leaving  to  others  the  glory  of  entering  the  rebel 
capital,  the  latter  was  in  the  saddle  guiding  and 
urging  on  his  victorious  columns. 

Lee's  great  object  now  was  to  get  to  Danville, 
from  whence  he  could  easily  effect  a  junction  with 
Johnston,  near  Raleigh.  On  the  other  hand, 
Grant's  great  object  was  to  cut  him  off  from  that 


THE  BACE.  369 

point,  and  Sheridan  was  pushed  on  toward  Burkes- 
ville,  the  junction  of  the  railroads,  while  the  Second 
and  Sixth  Corps  were  sent  on  to  his  support 

The  race  between  Lee's  and  Grant's  armies  was 
a  desperate  one ;  the  former  marched  swiftly  along 
the  north  bank  of  the  Appomattox,  and  the  latter 
the  south,  both  heading  for  Burke's  Station,  fifty- 
three  miles  from  Petersburg,  where  the  South- 
side  and  Danville  Railroads  intersect.  If  Grant 
reached  it  first,  Lee's  chances  of  escape  were  well 
nigh  hopeless,  and  he  knew  it.  But  the  former 
had  the  inside  track.  From  the  Rapidan  to  Rich- 
mond, a  year  before,  Lee  had  it.  Matters  were 
reversed  now,  and  Grant  was  not  the  general  to 
let  this  advantage  be  lost;  so  the  two  armies 
strained  forward,  Sheridan  all  the  while  harassing 
the  rebel  flank.  Lee's  army  marched  for  life,  ours 
for  victory.  Our  army,  by  putting  forth  hercu- 
lean efforts,  and  marching  as  wearied  men  never 
marched  before,  reached  it  first,  and  Lee  was  cut 
off  from  Danville  by  that  route.  On  Thursday 
afternoon,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Fifth  and 
Sixth  Corps,  Sheridan  completely  cut  off  and  cap- 
tured Ewell's  entire  column  of  nine  thousand  men, 
seven  general  officers,  fifteen  field-pieces  of  artil- 
lery, twenty-nine  battle-flags,  and  six  miles  of 
wagon-trains. 

After  reaching  Burkes  ville,  General  Meade, 
with  the  greater  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Po- 

16* 


870  LIFE  OF   GftANT. 

tomac,  took  up  the  pursuit  on  the  north  side  of 
the  railroad ;  while  Sheridan's  cavalry  and  Ord's 
Twenty-fourth  Corps  moved  rapidly  along  the 
south  side,  Sheridan  being  constantly  on  Lee's 
flanks,  frequently  compelling  him  to  halt  and 
form  line  of  battle,  and  as  often  engaging  him, 
cutting  off  detachments,  picking  up  stragglers, 
capturing  cannon  without  number,  arid  demor- 
alizing the  enemy  at  every  stand.  On  Friday, 
at  Farmville,  sixteen  miles  west  of  Burkesville,  a 
considerable  engagement  occurred,  in  which  the 
Second  Corps  participated  largely  and  suffered 
some  loss.  Lee,  however,  was  compelled  to  con- 
tinue his  retreat.  At  High  Bridge,  over  the  Ap- 
pornattox,  he  again  crossed  to  the  north  side  of 
the  river,  arid  two  of  our  regiments,  the  Fifty- 
fourth  Pennsylvania  and  One  Hundred  and  Twen- 
ty-third Ohio,  which  were  sent  there  to  hold  the 
bridge,  were  captured  by  a  strong  rebel  cavalry 
force.  The  railroad  bridge  at  this  point,  a  very 
high  and  long  structure,  was  burned  by  the 
enemy.  "Lee  now  headed  directly  for  Lynch- 
burg,  in  the  hope  of  reaching  a  point  where  he 
could  move  around  the  front  of  our  left  wing,  and 
escape  toward  Danville  by  a  road  which  runs  di- 
rectly south  from  a  point  about  twenty  miles  east 
of  Lynchburg.  But  his  rear  and  ilanks  were  so 
sorely  pressed  that  he  was  compelled  to  skirmish 
nearly  every  step,  and  to  destroy  or  abandon  an 


ptrfcstjif. 

immense  amount  of  property,  while  Sheridan  was 
rapidly  shooting  ahead  of  him." 

Grant  having  received  a  despatch  from  the 
latter  requesting  his  presence,  mounted  and  hur- 
ried to  the  front.  On  the  5th,  he  had  written  to 
Sherman,  saying:  "Sheridan  is  up  with  Lee,  and 
reports  all  that  is  left — horse,  foot,  and  dragoons — 
at  twenty  thousand  men,  much  demoralized.  We 
hope  to  reduce  this  number  one-half.  I  shall 
push  on  to  Burkesville ;  and  if  a  stand  is  made  at 
Danville,  will,  in  a  very  few  days,  go  there.  If 
you  can  do  so,  push  on  from  where  you  are,  and 
let  us  see  if  we  cannot  finish  the  job  with  Lee's 
and  Johnston's  armies." 

lie  had  said  at  the  outset,  when  he  started  from 
Culpepper  Court  House,  near  the  Rapidan,  that 
he  meant  to  follow  Lee  wherever  he  went ;  and 
he  was  now  doing  it,  and  would  do  it,  if  it  took 
him  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

All  next  day  the  pursuit  was  kept  up,  and  the 
fighting  continued ;  while,  like  a  hunted  stag,  with 
the  cry  of  the  eager  pack  drawing  nearer  and 
nearer  every  moment,  Lee  strained  forward  with 
the  mere  wreck  of  his  army.  But  the  foe  was 
everywhere — the  country  on  every  side  swarmed 
with  Grant's  troops ;  and  on  the  7th  the  sore- 
pressed,  disheartened  army  turned  off  the  main 
roads,  and  toiled  through  dense  thickets  of  oak  and 
pine,  that  were  here  and  there  crossed  only  by  a 


372  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

wood  road  or  path.  It  marched  this  day  without 
much  molestation,  except  now  and  then  it  was 
startled  by  Sheridan's  bugles,  as  his  bold  troopers 
dashed  on  the  meagre  trains.  The  next  day  it 
struck  a  main  road  and  marched  rapidly  till  dark, 
when  it  quietly  went  into  camp.  No  foe  was  in 
sight— the  air  no  longer  echoed  with  Sheridan's 
bugles,  and  to  all  appearance  the  way  was  clear 
to  Lynchburg.  During  the  night  the  general  offi- 
cers held  a  consultation  on  the  condition  of  affairs, 
and  the  proper  movements  to  be  made  in  the 
morning.  But  before  they  had  come  to  any  con- 
clusion, the  boom  of  Sheridan's  cannon  in  front 
startled  them  like  a  sudden  thunder-peal ;  for  it 
told  them  that  the  road  to  Lynchburg  was  blocked 
up  by  the  enemy.  Ord  was  to  the  south,  so  that 
they  were  cut  off  hi  that  direction  ;  while  Meade 
was  thundering  in  the  rear.  It  was  plain  there 
was  no  way  of  escape,  unless  they  could  cut  a 
road  through  Sheridan's  cavalry. 

In  the  mean  time  Grant,  who  knew  that  Lee 
would  soon  be  enclosed  in  his  net,  had  two  days 
before  addressed  him  the  following  note : 

APRIL  7,  1865. 
General  Rt  K  Lee,  Commanding  C.  S.  A. 

GENERAL  :  The  result  of  the  last  week  must  convince 
you  of  the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  pai't 
of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  in  this  struggle.  1 
feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my  duty  to  shift  from 
myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further  eifusion  of  blo<»d, 


GRANT'S  PROPOSITION.  373 

by  asking  of  you  tlie  surrender  of  that. portion  of  the 
Confederate  States  Army,  known  as  the  Army  of  North- 
ern Virginia. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT, 
Lieutenant-General,  Commanding  Armies  of  the  United  States. 

To  this  Lee  sent  the  following  answer : 

APBIL  7, 1865. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  received  your  note  of  this  date. 

Though  not  entirely  of  the  opinion  you  express,  of 
the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  I  reciprocate  your  desire 
to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  therefore,  before 
considering  your  proposition,  ask  the  terms  you  witt 
offer,  on  condition  of  its  surrender. 

K.  E.  LEE,  General. 

To  Lietiten ant-General  U.  S.  GBANT,  commanding  Armies  of  the 
United  States. 

Whether  he  believed  there  was  any  hope  of 
escape,  or  whether  he  spoke  of  still  resisting  in 
order  to  get  better  terms,  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
He  may  not  have  been  aware  that  Sheridan  was 
at  that  moment  sweeping  around  his  front,  cutting 
off  his  escape  to  Lynchburg ;  for  the  day  he  sent 
this  note  was  the  one  on  which  his  army  was 
marching  through  the  thickets  without  much  mo- 
lestation, except  from  some  detachments  of  cav- 
alry that  caused  but  little  alarm.  The  next  day, 
however,  he  had  a  clearer,  more  correct  idea  of 
his  condition ;  for  the  thunder  of  Sheridan's 
guns  in  front  told  him,  in  language  too  plain  to 


374  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

be  misunderstood,  that  his  case  was  hopeless. 
His  army  had  dwindled  down  to  less  than  ten 
thousand  men,  bearing  arms — though  there  were 
nearly  double  that  number  who  had  thrown  away 
their  muskets,  and  become  mere  stragglers,  scat- 
tered through  the  woods — and  it  was  evident  that 
those  which  still  kept  in  the  ranks  must  disband 
and  scatter  also,  or  surrender. 
The  following  was  Grant's  reply : 

APEIL  8,  1865. 
To  General  J5.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  G.  S.  A. 

GENERAL  :  Your  note  of  last  evening,  in  reply  to 
mine  of  same  date,  asking  the  conditions  on  which  I 
will  accept  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia, is  just  received. 

In  reply,  I  would  say  that,  peace  being  my  first  desire, 
there  is  but  one  condition  that  I insist  upon,  viz. : 

That  the  men  surrendered  shall  be  disqualified  for 
taking  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  until  properly  exchanged. 

I  will  meet  you,  or  designate  officers  to  meet  any 
officers  you  may  name,  for  the  same  purpose,  at  any 
point  agreeable  to  you,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging 
definitely  the  terms  upon  which  the  surrender  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  will  be  received. 
Very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT, 
Lieutenant- General,  Commanding  Armies  of  the  United  States. 

Lee's  response  was  hardly  as  "  frank  '*  as  he 
pretends,  unless  he  refers  to  the  mere  form  of  sur- 
render, or  to  his  own  personal  surrender,  for  the 
"  emergency  "  he  speaks  of,  had  certainly  arisen, 


THK   OOBEESPONDENCK.  375 

The  very  haste  with  which  he  answers  Grant's 
note,  and  his  anxiety  to  know  what  terms  he  will 
offer,  shows  that  he  feels  it  has.  He  says : 

APEIL  8,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  I  received,  at  a  late  hour,  your  note  of 
to-day,  in  answer  to  mine  of  yesterday. 

I  did  not  intend  to  propose  the  surrender  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia,  but  to  ask  the  terms  of  jour  prop- 
osition. To  be  frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency 
has  arisen  to  call  for  the  surrender. 

But  as  ike  restoration  of  peace  should  be  the  sole  ob- 
ject of  ally  I  desire  to  Know  whether  your  proposals 
would  tend  to  that  end. 

I  cannot,  therefore,  meet  you  with  a  view  to  surren- 
der the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia ;  but  as/ar  as  your 
proposition  may  affect  the  Confederate  States  forces  un- 
der my  command,  and  tend  to  the  restoration  of  peace, 
I  should  be  pleased  to  meet  you  at  10  A.  M.  to-morrow, 
on  the  old  stage-road  to  Richmond,  between  the  picket- 
lines  of  the  two  armies. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  E.  LEE,  General  0.  S.  A. 

Grant,  perfectly  certain  that  Lee  could  not  now 
escape,  was  unwilling  that  another  brave  soldier 
should  be  sacrificed  through  false  pride  or  foolish 
obstinacy,  and  determined  to  lose  no  chance  of 
bringing  the  matter  to  a  peaceful  termination,  and 
hence  replied : 

APBIL  9,  1865. 
General  12.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  0.  S.  A. 

GENERAL  :  Your  note  of  yesterday  is  received.  As  I 
have  no  authority  to  treat  on  the  subject  of  peace,  the 
meeting  proposed  for  10  A  M.  to-day  could  lead  to  no 


376  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

good.  I  will  state,  however,  Genera],  that  /  ami  equal- 
ly anxious  for  peace  with  yourself ;  and  the  whole 
North  entertain  the  same  feeling.  The  terms  upon 
which  peace  can  be  had  are  well  understood.  By  the 
South  laying  down  their  arms,  they  will  hasten  that 
most  desirable  event,  save  thousands  of  human  lives,  and 
hundreds  of  millions  of  property  not  yet  destroyed. 

Sincerely  hoping  that  all  our  difficulties  may  be  set- 
tled without  the  loss  of  another  life,  I  subscribe  myself, 
Yery  respectftilly, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT, 
Lieutenant-General  United  States  Array. 

The  very  day  on  which  this  was  sent,  Lee  had 
resolved  to  make  a  last  attempt  to  cut  his  way 
through  Sheridan's  force.  Gordon,  to  whom  this 
perilous  task  was  assigned,  marched  off  with  his 
thinned,  disheartened  division  to  execute  it,  when 
to  his  surprise  he  found  that  heavy  masses  of 
infantry  supported  the  cavalry.  Seeing  at  once 
that  the  attempt  would  only  expose  his  men  to 
butchery,  he  abandoned  it,  and  sent  a  despatch 
to  Lee  announcing  the  fact.  The  latter  in  the 
mean  time  had  ridden  to  the  rear  in  hope  of  meet- 
ing Grant,  but  failing  to  do  so,  addressed  him  the 
following  note : 

SUNDAY,  April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  I  received  your  note  of  this  morning,  on 
the  picket-line,  whither  I  had  come  to  meet  you,  and 
ascertain  definitely  what  terms  were  embraced  in  your 
proposition  of  yesterday  with  reference  to  the  surrender 
of  this  army. 

I  now  request  an  interview  in  accordance  with  the 


FLAG   OF  TRUCE.  377 

offer  contained  in  your  letter  of  yesterday  for  that  pur. 
pose.  V  ery  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 
To  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  Commanding  United  States  Armies. 

Grant,  as  soon  as  lie  received  it,  sent  the  follow- 
ing letters,  which  came  just  in  time  for  a  flag  of 
truce  to  be  raised  in  front  of  Gordon's  troops,  and 
prevent  a  charge  of  Sheridan's  cavalry,  which  was 
already  drawn  up  and  waiting  the  sound  of  the 
bugle  to  dash  down. 

SUNDAY,  April  9, 1865. 

General  E.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  0.  8.  A. 

Your  note  of  this  date  is  but  this  moment,  11  50 
A.  M.,  received. 

In  consequence  of  my  having  passed  from  the  Rich- 
mond and  Lynchburg  road  to  the  Farmville  and  Lynch- 
burg  road,  I  am  at  this  writing  about  four  miles  west 
of  Walter's  church,  and  will  push  forward  to  the  front 
for  the  purpose  of  meeting  you. 

Notice  sent  to  me,  on  this  road,  where  you  wish  the 
interview  to  take  place,  will  meet  me. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  G.RANT,  Lieutenant-GeneraL 


APPOMATTOX  OOUBT  HOUSE,  April  9,  1865. 

General  R.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  C.  8.  A. 

In  accordance  with  the  substance  of  my  letters  to 
you  of  the  8th  inst.,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender 
of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  on  the  following 
terms,  to  wit : 

Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  du- 


878  LIFE   OF   GKANT. 

plicate,  one  copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer  designated  by 
me,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such  officers  as  j  ou 
may  designate. 

The  officers  to  give  their  individual  paroles  not  to 
take  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  U)  tited  States 
until  properly  exchanged,  and  each  company  or  regi- 
mental commander  sign  a  like  parole  for  the  men  of 
their  commands. 

The  arms,  artillery,  and  public  property  to  be  park- 
ed and  stacked  and  turned  over  to  the  officers  appointed 
by  me  to  receive  them. 

This  will  not  embrace  the  side-arms  of  the  officers, 
nor  their  private  horses  or  baggage. 

This  done,  each  officer  and  man  will  "be  allowed  to 
return  to  their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  United 
States  authority  so  long  as  they  observe  their  parole 
and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  reside. 
Very  respectfully, 

U.  S.  GBANT,  Lieutenant-General. 

These  terms  were  at  once  accepted,  in  the  fol- 
lowing short,  direct  reply  : 


IlEADQTTJLRTEBS,  ABMT  OF  NORTTTETC*  VlROTOIA,  ) 

April  9,  1865.      J 
Lieutenant-General  U.  8.  Grant,  Commanding  U.  S.  A. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  date, 
containing  the  terms  of  surrender  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia^  as  proposed  by  you.  As  they  are 
substantially  the  same  as  those  expressed  in  your 
letter  of  the  8th  inst.,  they  are  accepted.  I  will  pro- 
ceed to  designate  the  proper  officers  to  carry  the  stipu- 
lations into  effect. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  E.  LEE,  General. 

Grant  immediately  rode  forward  to  meet 


THE   INTERVIEW  379 

The  latter,  at  this  time,  was  resting  under  an  ap- 
ple-tree, with  a  single  member  of  his  staff  beside 
him,  when  Col.  Babcock,  of  Grant's  statF,  rode  up 
and  said,  that  if  Gen.  Lee  remained  where  he  was 
Gen.  Grant  would  soon  meet  him,  as  he  was 
coming  along  that  road.  Lee  immediately  di- 
rected CoL  Marshall,  his  aid,  to  find  a  suitable 
place  in  which  to  receive  Grant.  The  Colonel 
hailed  the  first  inhabitant  he  saw,  a  Mr.  McLean, 
and  was  directed  by  him  to  a  vacant  house  near 
by,  which  was  partly  in  ruins.  He  refused  to  re- 
ceive the  Union  commander  in  such  a  dilapidated 
building,  when  McLean  offered  his  own  residence,  a 
farm-house  a  little  way  off.  Here,  in  a  plainly 
furnished  sitting-room,  Lee  received  Grant,  who 
was  accompanied  by  several  staff  officers  and  gener- 
als. The  meeting  was  frank,  courteous,  and  without 
ceremony.  Lee  wore  his  sword,  which  Grant  ob- 
serving, said,  "  I  must  apologize,  General,  for  not 
wearing  my  sword — it  had  gone  off  with  my  bag- 
gage when  I  received  your  note.1'  Lee  bowed, 
and  at  once  entered  on  the  business  that  had 
brought  them  together,  and  asked  Grant  to  state 
in  writing,  if  he  preferred  it,  the  terms  on  which 
lie  would  receive  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia.  Grant  immediately  sat  down 
by  a  table,  and  with  a  common  lead-pencil  wrote 
the  following  note : 


380  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

APPOMATTOX  COTTKT  HOTJSE,  April  9th,  1865. 
General  .R.  K  Lee,  Commanding  C.  S.  A.  : 

In  accordance  with  the  substance  of  my  letter  to 
you  of  the  8th  inst.,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender 
of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  on  the  following 
terms,  to  wit : 

Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  du- 
plicate, one  copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer  designated  by 
me,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such  officers  as  you  may 
designate. 

The  officers  to  give  their  individual  parole  not  to 
take  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
until  properly  exchanged ;  and  each  company  or  regi- 
mental commander  to  sign  a  like  parole  for  the  men  of 
their  commands. 

The  arms,  artillery,  and  public  property  to  be  park- 
ed and  stacked  and  turned  over  to  the  officers  appoint- 
ed by  me  to  receive  them.  This  will  not  embrace  the 
side-arms  of  the  officers,  nor  their  private  horses  or 
baggage.  This  done,  each  man  will  be  allowed  to 
return  to  their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United 
States  authority,  so  long  as  they  observe  their  parole 
and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  may  reside. 
Yery  respectfully, 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieut.-Gen. 

He  handed  this  to  Lee,  who  read  it  carefully, 
and  then  asked  the  construction  to  be  put  on 
"  private  horses,"  as  most  of  the  cavalrymen 
owned  their  horses.  Grant  replied,  that  they 
must  be  turned  over  to  the  Government  Lee 
acknowledged  that  it  was  just,  when  Grant 
said  that  he  would  instruct  his  officers  to  let 
those  men  who  owned  their  horses  retain  them, 
as  they  would  need  them  to  till  their  farms.  The 


THE   SURRENDER.  381 

conqueror,  in  the  very  moment  of  his  highest  tri- 
umph, by  a  single  sentence  brings  up  a  quiet 
picture  of  peace,  and  already  begins  to  prepare 
for  turning  the  "  sword  into  a  ploughshare." 

While  this  document  was  being  copied,  which 
took  some  time,  as  there  was  but  one  inkstand  in 
the  house,  Grant  and  Lee  conversed  familiarly, 
each  inquiring  about  old  army  friends.  In  casu- 
ally alluding  to  the  business  before  them,  Lee  said 
that  he  had  two  or  three  thousand  Federal  priso- 
ners on  hand,  arid  he  was  afraid  he  had  not 
rations  to  supply  them.  Sheridan,  who  was 
present,  immediately  replied :  "I  have  rations  for 
twenty-five  thousand  men." 

When  Grants  paper  was  copied,  Lee  directed 
Col.  Marshall  to  write  a  reply,  the  substance  of 
which  he  gave  him.  The  latter  began  with,  "I 
have  the  honor  to  reply  to  your  communication 
of,  &c."  Lee  scratched  all  this  out,  and  wrote 
simply  and  soldier-like:  "General,  I  have  receiv- 
ed your  letter  of  this  date,  containing  the  terms 
of  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  as 
proposed  by  you.  As  they  are  substantially  the 
same  as  those  expressed  in  your  letter  of  the  8th 
inst,  they  are  accepted.  I  will  proceed  to  desig- 
nate the  proper  officers  to  carry  the  stipulations 
into  effect." 

Thus  ended  the  interview  of  that  memorable 
Sabbath  —  Palm  Sunday  —  between  those  two 


382  LIFE   OF   GRANT 

great  actors  in  the  frightful  drama  that  had 
just  closed.  On  the  one  side  was  the  Virginia 
gentleman,  with  the  courtly  bearing  of  the  old 
school,  and  standing  over  six  feet  high — head  and 
shoulders  above  all  around  him.  On  the  other, 
the  Western  representative  man — short,  thick -set, 
and  broad-shouldered,  self-possessed  and  natural  as 
in  his  own  camp.  There  was  no  theatrical  display 
or  language  from  beginning  to  end.  Simple,  un- 
assuming, straight-forward  and  manly,  they  both 
went  through  the  eventful  interview,  so  painful  to 
one,  in  a  manner  that  became  them.  The  change 
that  comes  over  Grant  in  the  moment  of  victory  is 
very  marked  While  pressing  towards  it,  he  is 
relentless  as  fate,  and  blow  follows  blow  with  un- 
paralleled fierceness.  But  when  it  is  achieved  all 
the  warrior  suddenly  disappears,  and  you  see  only 
a  kind-hearted,  simple,  unassuming  man,  more 
intent  on  sparing  the  feelings  of  his  conquered  foes 
than  occupied  with  his  own  triumphs.  The  inter- 
view being  over,  Lee  mounted  his  horse  and  rode 
thoughtfully  back  to  his  headquarters.  The  deed 
was  irrevocably  done — the  Confederacy,  which 
had  put  forth  such  superhuman  efforts  for  the  last 
few  years,  was  dead  forever — the  mighty  structure 
lay  in  ruins,  and  the  land  was  strewed  with  its 
wreck. 

Grant,  as  lie  rode  away,  felt  that  his  work  was 
also  done — but  it  was  a  work  of  accomplishment, 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  DREAM.  383 

not  of  destruction — of  glory  enduring,  not  of  dis- 
grace and  sorrow. 

Three  days  after,  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
had  its  last  parade,  and  marched  by  divisions 
to  a  spot  near  the  Court  House,  and  there  silently 
stacked  their  arms,  took  off  their  accoutrements, 
and  piled  together  their  flags.  About  25,000 
men,  more  than  half  unarmed,  all  that  were  left  of 
Lee's  great  army,  then  turned  towards  their  ruined, 
wasted  homes.  Grant,  with  that  true  magnanim- 
ity and  delicacy  that  have  always  characterized 
him,  was  not  present  at  the  final  surrender. 
Prompted  by  the  same  spirit,  he  never  made  a 
formal  entry  into  the  hostile  capital,  as  other  con- 
querers  would  have  done.  Avoiding  all  pomp 
and  show,  he  was  content  with  having  finished 
the  work  assigned  him.  Never  did  a  warrior  in 
the  height  of  triumph  wear  honors  so  meekly. 

Grant  now  hastened  to  Washington,  and  on  the 
14th,  the  day  on  which  the  President  was  assassi- 
nated, attended  a  cabinet  meeting.  During  a 
pause  in  the  discussions,  the  President  turned  to 
him  and  asked  if  he  had  heard  from  Gen.  Sher- 
man. Grant  replied  that  he  had  not,  but  expect- 
ed every  hour  to  hear  that  Johnston  had  surren- 
dered to  him.  "Well,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "you 
will  hear  very  soon  now."  "Why  do  you  think 
so?"  asked  Grant.  "Because,"  said  he,  "I  had 
a  dream  last  night,  and  ever  since  the  war  began 


884  LIFE   OF   GEANT. 

I  have  invariably  had  the  same  dream  before  any 
important  military  event  occurred.  I  dreamed 
that  I  saw  a  ship  sailing  very  rapidly,  and  I  am 
sure  it  portends  some  important  national  event1' 

The  very  next  day,  Johnston,  having  learned 
the  fate  of  Lee,  proposed  an  armistice  to  Sher- 
man, offering,  on  certain  conditions,  to  surrender. 
The  Government  disapproving  of  both,  sent  Grant 
down  to  take  control  of  matters,  who,  offering 
substantially  the  same  terms  granted  to  Lee,  the 
army  was  surrendered.  During  this  very  week 
Mobile  fell,  and  now  almost  as  rapidly  as  messa- 
ges could  be  transmitted  the  rebel  forces  in  every 
section  of  the  country  laid  down  their  arms. 

The  army,  its  great  work  being  done,  now  took 
its  joy  fill,  triumphant  march  for  home.  But  be- 
fore those  brave  troops  melted  away  into  the  com- 
mon mass  of  citizens  again,  it  was  determined 
that  they  should  once  more  pass  in  review  before 
their  great  leaders,  in  the  capital  of  the  country. 
It  was  a  noble  spectacle,  as  with  the  President, 
and  cabinet,  and  foreign  ministers  around  him, 
Grant  looked  down  on  those  bronzed  veterans 
who  had  moved  at  his  bidding,  and  been  the  in- 
struments to  execute  his  will,  as  he  pressed  the 
hosts  of  rebellion  back,  and  rescued  the  Republic 
from  destruction.  For  two  days  the  mighty  army 
marched  past  him,  and  his  eye  kindled  as  the  old 
banners  that  had  waved  amid  the  storm  of  Don- 


^  THE   GRAND   REVIEW.  385 

elson,  Shiloh,  and  Vicksburg,  and  Missionary 
Ridge,  dipped  proudly  to  him.  Great  and  touch- 
ing memories  clustered  around  them,  for  they 
marked  the  steps  of  the  wondrous  path  he  had 
trod  for  the  last  four  years  Soldiers  and  officers 
had  become  endeared  to  him  by  a  common  toil, 
a  common  danger,  and  a  mutual  triumph.  They 
had  never  failed  him  in  the  hour  of  deadly  peril. 
Brave  hearts  were  they  all,  who  had  stood  shoul- 
der to  shoulder  with  him  on  many  a  hard-fought 
field.  On  every  drooping  banner  his  eye  rested 
with  pride,  for  not  one  had  been  disgraced — on 
the  contrary,  they  were  covered  all  over  with 
noble  inscriptions,  the  mere  mention  of  which, 
was  a  history  of  their  gallant  deeds.  Although 
the  air  was  tremulous  with  triumphant  music,  and 
shouts  to  the  chief  rocked  the  heavens,  yet  amid 
all  this  adulation  and  excitement,  a  sad  and 
mournful  feeling  filled  his  heart,  as  the  swiftly- 
marching  columns  disappeared  in  the  distance, 
for  they  were  parting  forever.  But  over  all, 
swelled  emotions  of  joy,  that  the  Union  was  saved 
— the  country  rescued  from  ruin,  and  a  happy, 
united  people  would  ere  long  forget  the  past,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  peace  and  prosperity. 

17 


CHAPTER,  XXV. 

Grant  since  the  "War— Keeps  clear  of  Politics — His  freedom  from 
animosity  to  the  South — His  calm  and  dispassionate  judgment 
— Interferes  in  behalf  of  Lee — Opposed  to  the  distinctions  inado 
in  the  Amnesty  Proclamation  between  Officers  of  different 
Rank — Also  to  that  based  on  Property — Opposed  to  Military 
Government — Intercedes  for  Rebels  asking  for  Pardon — The 
Presidential  Tour — His  Reception  at  the  Sanitary  Fair  in  Chi- 
cago— A  thrilling  spectacle — "Welcome  at  Galena — Prefers 
"Work  to  Show — Sent  South  to  examine  into  its  Condition — 
Remonstrates  against  the  Removal  of  Sheridan — Appointed 
Secretary  of  War  ad  interim — Discharges  the  Duties  of  the 
Office  with  signal  Ability — His  Reticence  on  Political  Questions 
— His  Platform  of  Principles. 

THE  life  of  Grant  since  the  war,  furnishes  but 
little  exciting,  though  important  material  for  the 
biographer.  Unobtrusive  in  peace  as  he  was 
modest  in  war,  he  has  avoided  mixing  in  the  po- 
litical contests  of  the  day,  and  has  very  seldom 
given  the  sanction  of  his  great  name,  as  an  in- 
dorsement, to  any  party. 

He  has  shown  the  same  well-balanced  charac- 
ter amid  the  fierce  and  warring  passions  of  men 
that  he  did  in  the  strife  and  tumult  of  battle. 
He  shared  with  President  Lincoln  in  that  freedom 
from  bitter  animosity  to  the  South,  for  the  untold 
evils  it  had  brought  on  the  country,  which  sway- 
ed  the  feelings,  and  controlled  the  actions  of  so 


tiis  JUSTICE.  387 

many,  in  and  out  of  power.  Not  that  he  felt  less 
the  fearful  crime  that  had  been  committed,  or  was 
less  shocked  at  its  results,  but  that  he  was  too 
great  and  noble  to  live  in  the  foul  atmosphere  of 
revenge  and  hate,  and  was  too  far-seeing  a  states- 
man, and  too  pure  a  patriot,  not  to  deprecate  con- 
tinued animosity  and  wider  separation.  He  felt 
that  if  South  and  North  were  ever  again  to  form 
a  Union,  a  union  in  reality  and  not  in  name,  by- 
gones must  be  by-gones,  so  far  as  the  common 
safety  and  justice  Avould  permit.  Had  President 
Lincoln  lived,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  they 
would  have  moved  in  perfect  harmony  and  accord 
in  the  work  of  reconstruction.  But  the  tragical 
death  of  the  President  turned  the  kind  feelings  of 
too  many  in  the  North  into  gall  and  wormwood ; 
for  in  their  grief  and  passion  they  forgot  to  be 
just,  and  the  act  of  one  madman  was  construed 
as  the  act  of  the  entire  South.  Grant,  though  no 
one  was  more  shocked  and  grieved  than  he, 
showed  that  superiority  to  surrounding  influ- 
ences that  made  him  always  so  calm  and  self- 
poised  in  the  heat  of  conflict — even  when  every 
thing  was  tossing  in  wreck  and  ruin  around  him. 
In  this  respect  he  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
men  in  history.  Though  possessing  a  kind  heart, 
the  contagion  of  sympathy,  or  passion,  like  the 
panic  of  officers  and  men  in  battle,  never  warps  his 
clear  judgment  or  prevents  his  seeing  the  right 


388  LIFE   OF   GRANT 

When  under  the  influence  of  the  excited  state 
of  feeling  arising  out  of  the  horrible  tragedy,  an 
indictment  of  treason  was  found  against  Lee,  like  a 
true  soldier,  who  will  no  sooner  allow  his  honor  than 
his  sword  to  be  tarnished,  he  promptly  interposed, 
saying,  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  express  stipula- 
tions of  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  Court-House, 
which  declared  that  none  of  those  who  had  laid 
down  their  arms  were  to  be  molested  so  long  as 
their  conduct  was  peaceable  and  orderly.  So  when 
the  President  consulted  him  on  his  amnesty  proc- 
lamation, Grant  was  entirely  opposed  to  that  pro- 
vision which  excluded  from  its  benefits  all  officers 
from  a  brigadier-general  up.  He  said  that  those, 
of  whatever  grade,  who  had  belonged  to  the  regu- 
lar army,  and  hence  been  educated  by  the  General 
Government,  should  be  excluded ;  but  he  could  see 
neither  the  propriety  nor  justice  of  excluding  a  vol- 
unteer, who  by  his  bravery  and  talents  had  risen 
to  the  rank  of  general,  and  yet  pardoning  one 
who,  though  he  tried,  failed  to  get  higher  than  a 
major  or  colonel.  Every  man  of  common  sense 
will  acknowledge  that  he  was  right.  He  was  also 
opposed  to  the  property  distinction,  by  which  all 
persons  worth  over  twenty  thousand  dollars  were 
deprived  of  the  benefits  of  the  amnesty.  It  could 
not  but  scern  strange,  that,  of  two  neighbors  living 
side  by  side,  and  who  had  been  equally  active  in 
the  rebellion,  one  worth  but  fifteen  thousand  dol- 


OPPOSED   TO   MILITARY   GOVERNMENT.          389 

lars  should  be  pardoned,  and  the  other,  because 
he  happened  to  possess  five  thousand  more,  should 
not  be.  But  it  seemed  proper  that  there  should  be 
a  limit  somewhere,  and  as  the  same  objection 
would  hold  good  wherever  it  was  placed,  he  after- 
wards changed  his  mind,  and  approved  of  it. 

The  President  consulted  him  much  respecting  the 
proper  course  to  pursue  towards  the  rebel  States, 
but  he  steadily  refused  to  be  mixed  up  in  civil 
matters — he  simply  urged,  and  urged  strenuously, 
that  some  kind  of  government  should  be  adopted 
at  once.  As  a  military  commander,  it  would 
have  been  natural  for  him  to  suppose  that  milita- 
ry rale  would  be  better  until  the  chaotic  state  of 
affairs  should  partially  cease.  But  like  Washing- 
ton, he  believes  that  almost  any  government  is  bet- 
ter than  a  military  despotism — that  even  great  dis- 
orders are  preferable  to  it.  His  views  on  this  point 
show  him  to  be  more  of  a  statesman  than  those 
who  have  exercised  the  civil  power. 

The  well-known  magnanimity  of  his  character 
caused  many  prominent  rebels,  especially  officers 
excluded  by  the  amnesty  proclamation,  to  apply 
to  him  to  obtain  their  pardon  ;  and  when  the  case 
seemed  a  proper  one  for  the  Executive  clemency, 
he  never  refused. 

As  this  fact  came  out  on  his  examination  before 
the  impeachment  committee  of  Congress,  many 
at  first  thought  he  had  been  guilty  of  too  great 


390  LIFE   OF  GBANT. 

leniency ;  but  as  each  case  was  investigated,  the 
simple  statement  of  facts  was  all  the  defence 
necessary.  He  had  not  made  a  single  mistake 
that  even  his  opponents  could  use;  while  the 
spirit  he  exhibited,  caused  many  of  his  enemies 
at  the  South  to  change  their  feelings  toward  him. 
The  uniform  correctness  of  his  judgment  under 
all  circumstances,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
traits  in  his  character. 

The  reception  he  met  with,  as  he  moved  from 
point  to  point  in  the  country,  showed  the  un- 
bounded love  felt  for  him  by  all  classes.  At  New 
York,  tens  of  thousands  crowded  the  City  Hall 
to  shake  hands  with  him;  while  he  stood  amid 
the  rush  and  crowd,  quietly  smoking  his  cigar, 
just  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do  under  the 
blaze  of  batteries  and  amid  the  tossing  ranks  of 
war.  At  Boston,  determined  efforts  were  made 
to  get  a  speech  out  of  him,  but  in  vain.  The 
same  reticence  and  unobtrusive  manner  character- 
ized him  throughout  the  Presidential  tour  across 
the  country,  at  the  time  of  the  inauguration  of 
the  monument  to  Douglas  in  Illinois.  He  lived 
and  moved  in  a  political  atmosphere,  and  it 
seemed  impossible  that  a  man  could  talk  at  all, 
unless  he  expressed  his  opinion  on  politics ;  but 
not  a  word  escaped  him.  Once,  some  persons 
tried  to  entrap  him,  when  the  sudden  waking-up 
of  the  lion  taught  them  that  impassibility  was 


BECEPTION   AT  CHICAGO.  891 

not  always  stolidity.  He  was  a  much  greater 
personage  than  the  President ;  and  the  immense 
crowds  that  gathered  on  the  way  to  welcome  the 
distinguished  party,  gave  their  longest,  loudest 
cheers  to  Grant. 

But  perhaps  the  most  imposing,  if  not  the  most 
enthusiastic  reception  he  ever  received,  was  at  the 
last  Sanitary  Fair,  held  in  Chicago.  The  expecta- 
tion of  seeing  him  arid  Sherman,  and  other  distin- 
guished officers,  had  brought  an  immense  crowd  to- 
gether;  so  that  "Union  Hall"  was  packed  with  ten 
thousand  people,  when,  heralded  by  a  salute  of  a 
hundred  cannon,  and  escorted  by  General  Hooker, 
the  honorary  president  of  the  fair,  and  other  dis- 
tinguished men,  he  entered  the  door-way.  The 
moment  he  appeared,  a  choir  selected  for  the  pur- 
pose, struck  up  "The  Eed,  White,  and  Blue." 
But  the  pealing  melody  had  hardly  commenced 
when  it  was  drowned,  lost,  in  the  enthusiastic, 
wild  hurrahs  that  shook  the  building — cheer  fol- 
lowing cheer,  like  successive  billows ;  while  long 
lines  of  waving  handkerchiefs  and  bright  eyes, 
gleamed  above  the  dark  mass,  like  sunlight  on  the 
waves.  As  the  tumult  subsided,  Grant  stepped 
forward,  but  before  he  could  open  his  lips  the 
building  again  shook  with  the  thunders  of  ap- 
plause. He  gazed  calmly  on  the  excited,  mighty 
multitude,  and  as  soon  as  there  came  a  lull  in  the 
storm,  said :  "  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  as  I  never 


392  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

make  a  speech  myself,  I  will  ask  Governor  Yates 
to  return  the  thanks  I  should  fail  to  express.11 
Governor  Yates  then  came  forward,  and  closed  a 
short,  exciting  address  with,  "  and,  fellow-citizens, 
I  am  here  to-day  to  say  that  the  proudest  reflec- 
tion that  thrills  the  heart  of  this  brave  soldier  and 
General,  is,  that  we  have  gloriously  triumphed. 
That  our  nation  is  preserved,  that  our  govern- 
ment has  been  maintained,  and  that  we  have  our 
free  institutions  for  us  and  our  posterity  forever." 

The  citizens  of  Galena,  his  place  of  residence 
before  the  war,  received  him  under  triumphal 
arches. 

During  the  war,  a  person  on  one  occasion  re- 
marked to  him  that  his  name  had  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  presidency.  He  laugh- 
ingly replied,  that  if  he  ever  run  for  an  office,  he 
hoped  it  would  be  for  mayor  of  Galena,  so  that 
he  might  have  a  sidewalk  built  from  his  house 
to  the  railroad  depot.  This  the  citizens  had 
built;  and  now  over  one  of  the  green  arches  were 
the  words,  "  General,  the  sidewalk  is  built." 

Everywhere  the  same  enthusiastic  welcome  at- 
tested how  deeply  he  had  implanted  himself  in 
the  affections  of  the  people. 

Though  grateful  for  these  spontaneous,  unstint- 
ed expressions  of  love  and  respect,  yet  all  pub- 
lic ovations  wearied  him,  and  he  was  glad  to  get 
back  to  his  legitimate  work — reducing  the  army, 


SECRETARY   OF   WAB.  393 

and  distributing  the  various  portions  of  it  as  the 
public  exigencies  required. 

Such  conflicting  reports  were  circulated  respect- 
ing the  condition  of  the  South,  that  the  President 
sent  him  to  inquire  into  it.  He  did  so,  and  his 
report  showed  that  superiority  to  outside  influ- 
ences, and  calm,  dispassionate,  just  judgment  that 
has  ever  distinguished  him  from  other  men. 

True  to  the  man  who  had  so  nobly  stood  by 
him  during  the  war,  when  the  President  removed 
Sheridan  from  command  in  New  Orleans,  he 
remonstrated  against  it 

He  had  shown  himself  a  great  general,  and  he 
was  at  length  to  exhibit  those  rare  executive  and 
administrative  faculties  which  are  not  always  com- 
bined with  military  ability. 

In  the  year  1807  the  President  removed  Mr. 
Stanton,  Secretary  of  War,  and  put  Grant  as 
Secretary  ad  interim  in  his  place. 

Though  Stanton,  when  he  confined  himself  to 
the  special,  appropriate  duties  of  his  department, 
was  generally  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  ablest 
Secretaries  of  War  we  ever  had,  yet  Grant,  though 
a  novice,  and  hurried  without  previous  prepara- 
ration  into  the  place,  excelled  him  in  every  partic- 
ular. Although  as  General-in-Chief  he  had  all  the 
departments  under  his  charge,  some  of  which, 
especially  the  Southern,  caused  him  much  anxiety 
and  trouble,  yet  the  administration  of  the  oifrce 
17* 


894  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

was  complete  and  perfect.  Nor  was  this  all — he 
immediately  entered  on  the  work  of  retrenchment 
One  would  think,  burdened  as  he  was  with  the 
two-fold  duties  of  the  office  and  those  belonging 
to  him  as  General,  and  knowing,  too,  that  his 
occupation  of  it  was  only  transient,  that  he  would 
have  been  quite  content  to  have  kept  things  going 
on  in  their  old  channels.  But  instead  of  this,  his 
first  act  was  to  seize  the  pruning-knife,  and  not 
rashly,  but  wisely,  he  cut  down  the  expenses  of 
the  department  millions  of  dollars. 

His  report  at  the  opening  of  Congress,  gave  a 
clear,  compact  statement  of  the  military  situation, 
unburdened  with  theories  and  recommendations 
of  his  own.  Stating  facts  so  that  Congress  could 
act  intelligently,  was  better  than  any  mere  per- 
sonal opinion.  Though  wishing  to  reduce  the 
expenses  of  the  Government  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, he  would  not  even  recommend  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau.  Although 
the  expenditure  had  been  over  $3,000,000,  yet  he 
says:  "No  recommendation  is  made  at  the 
present  time  respecting  the  continuance  or  discon- 
tinuance of  this  Bureau.  During  the  session  of 
Congress,  facts  may  develop  themselves  requiring 
special  legislation  in  the  premises,  when  the 
necessary  recommendations  may  be  made." 

In  this  single  sentence,  one  can  see  the  rea- 
son for  his  strange  reticence  on  political  ques- 


HIS   RETICENCE.  895 

tions.  " Facts  may  develop  themselves"  is  the 
key  to  this  silence  that  has  offended  so  many. 
Senator  Wade  once  said  that  he  tried  to  get  his 
political  views,  \  at  when  he  talked  politics  Grant 
talked  horse.  The  leaders  of  both  parties  for  a 
long  while  denounced  or  sneered  at  this  want  of 
an  opinion,  or  fear  of  expressing  it,  as  they 
termed  it.  No  man,  they  said,  was  fit  to  be 
President  who  had  not  fixed,  decided  opinions. 
In  ordinary  times  one  naturally  has  fixed  opin- 
ions on  matters  that  divide  parties,  but  in  the 
then  chaotic  state  of  the  South  no  man  could  tell 
what  new  phase  it  would  present,  requiring  con- 
sequently a  corresponding  change  in  measures. 
Grant,  however,  was  unmoved  either  by  expos- 
tulations, entreaties,  or  threats.  He  never  in 
war  laid  down  a  campaign  in  all  its  details; 
certain  outlines  were  fixed,  but  he  changed  his 
plans  and  marches  and  battles  as  circumstances 
changed ;  and  he  wanted  to  be  left  free  to  act 
correspondingly  in  civil  matters.  He  did  not 
seek  the  nomination  for  the  Presidency,  nor 
even  say  he  would  accept  it  if  tendered  him. 
He  said  distinctly  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
-President,  and  in  that  he  showed  his  wisdom ; 
for  that  high  office  is  not  only  beset  with 
untold  annoyances,  but  is  of  short  duration, 
while  the  position  he  then  held  as  Lieutenant- 
General  was  far  more  desirable  in  itself,  and 


396  LIFE   OF   GEAKT. 

lasted  for  a  lifetime.  He  said,  moreover,  if  lie 
should  accept  the  office,  it  would  be  from  the 
same  motive  that  prompted  him  to  accept  com- 
mand in  the  army — to  serve  his  country.  The 
position,  high  or  low,  was  of  secondary  conse- 
quence— he  must  see  first  how  he  could  be  of 
benefit  to  the  country  in  occupying  it.  And  we 
believe  that,  if  any  political  party  had  attempt- 
ed to  hamper  him  with  platforms  of  mere  meas- 
ures that  would  have  prevented  his  acting  as  he 
deemed  the  public  interest  required,  he  would 
have  refused  to  be  President.  If  a  few  leaders 
expected  him  to  be  a  mere  machine,  the  wires 
of  which  they  could  pull,  they  would  have 
grievously  misunderstood  his  character.  His 
main  views  he  never  concealed.  His  platform 
was  broad  as  his  character.  The  restoration  of 
the  Union  to  peace  and  prosperity  was  its  foun- 
dation. How  pitiful  do  mere  factions  appear 
when  contrasted  with  this  single-hearted,  lofty 
patriotism.  To  the  careful  reader  of  history, 
no  truth  is  plainer  than  that  factions  can  never 
bring  a  country  out  of  a  chaotic,  perilous  con- 
dition. If  a  people  cannot  rise  to  the  high  level 
that  Gen.  Grant  occupied,  and  from  which  he 
could  not  be  forced  by  threats  or  flatteries,  then 
we  must  add  their  name  to  the  long,  sad  roll  of 
Governments  that  must  fall  before  contending 
factions. 


HIS    COURSE   EIGHT.  397 

"We  are  not  speaking  of  Gen.  Grant  politi- 
cally, but  historically — defending  him  from  the 
attacks  that  have  been  made  on  him.  As  a 
man,  whether  President  or  not,  we  assert  that 
his  course  was  right,  his  example  noble,  and  one 
that  ought  to  be  followed. 

The  people  of  a  country  may  have  their  preju- 
dices or  passions  played  upon  by  unscrupulous 
political  leaders,  till  their  judgments  are  warped, 
and  misguided  action  follows.  But  the  hour  of 
disenthralment  will  surely  come,  and  the  true,  un- 
selfish patriot  will  receive  the  eulogies  of  those 
who  traduced  him.  The  laurels  he  deserved  in  life, 
sometimes,  alas,  fall  only  on  his  grave,  or  the 
grave  of  the  republic ;  yet,  Time,  in  the  end,  vin 
dicates  the  right 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Grant's  Freedom  from  Party  prejudice — Vacates  the  War  Office— 
Correspondence  with  the  President — Statements  of  the  MOTI 
bers  of  the  Cabinet — Contradictory  Statements — Exp'ariation 
of  the  discrepancy — His  course  approved — Refuses  to  sanction 
Hancock's  order  at  New  Orleans — His  Character — II is  Courage 
— Power  of  Concentration — Tenacity — Knowledge  of  Detail — 
On  the  Picket  Line — Anecdote  of  him — Skill  in  handling  Large 
Armies — Lincoln's  estimate  of  his  Character— McPherson's. 

AMID  the  bitter  feeling  of  party  that  had  char- 
acterized Congress  and  distracted  the  country  for 
the  past  three  years,  it  seemed  impossible  that 
Grant  could  draw  up  a  report  of  the  condition 
and  wants  of  the  South,  or  afterwards  act  as  Sec- 
retary of  War,  without  having  abuse  from  one  side 
or  the  other  heaped  upon  him.  But  so  free  was 
he  from  all  mere  party  bias  himself,  so  sincere  and 
apparent  his  desire  for  truth,  and  so  simple  and 
straightforward  his  whole  conduct,  that  even  party 
rancor  was  compelled  to  silence.  This  fact  alone 
is  the  highest  encomium  on  his  integrity  and 
ability  that  can  be  pronounced. 

But  that  such  a  prominent  figure  as  he,  could 
forever  remain  in  that  vortex  of  passion  and  party 
hate — Washington — where  plots  and  counterplots, 
and  threats,  and  flatteries,  and  cunning,  and  false- 


VACATES   HIS   OFFICE.  399 

hood  have  full  scope,  without  in  some  way  being 
drawn  into  it,  was  impossible.  Filling  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  War  with  marked  ability  and  in- 
tegrity, it  turned  out  that  he  was  not  put  there 
for  those  qualities,  but  to  take  the  cross-fire  of  the 
President  and  Senate,  or,  in  other  words,  be  a 
rock  on  which  both  should  hammer  while  settling 
their  personal  quarrel. 

But  when  the  Senate,  on  its  assembling,  refused 
to  sanction  the  removal  of  Stanton,  Grant  quietly 
vacated  the  office.  This  was  the  signal  of  a  storm. 
It  was  stated  that  Grant  had  agreed  not  to  give 
up  the  office,  but  compel  Stanton  to  resort  to  legal 
measures  to  get  it,  and  thus  compel  the  Tenure  of 
Office  bill  to  be  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
where  its  constitutionality  could  be  decided.  The 
papers  teemed  with  rumors  and  assertions  affect- 
ing, as  Grant  said,  "his  personal  honor,"  and  a 
correspondence  ensued  between  him  and  the  Pres- 
ident, in  which  they  stand  diametrically  opposite 
in  regard  to  certain  facts  that  took  place  in  a  Cab- 
inet meeting  where  the  question  of  Stanton's  rein- 
statement by  the  Senate  was  discussed. 

The  entire  correspondence  is  too  long  to  be  in- 
serted here.  The  following,  however,  is  substan- 
tially the  version  of  the  affair  as  given  by  Grant : 

"  When  the  question  came  up  as  to  what  course 
should  be  pursued  in  case  the  Senate  did  not  con- 
cur in  the  suspension  of  Stanton,  Grant  replied 


400  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

that  he  thought  Mr.  Stanton  would  have  to  ap- 
peal to  the  courts  to  reinstate  him ;  adding,  how- 
ever, that  should  he  change  his  views  on  this 
point  he  would  inform  the  President.  Subse- 
quently, after  closely  examining  the  terms  of  the 
Tenure  of  Office  bill,  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  he  could  not,  without  violating  the  law,  re- 
fuse to  vacate  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War  the 
moment  Mr.  Stanton  was  reinstated  by  the  Sen- 
ate, even  though  the  President  should,  which  he 
did  not  do,  order  him  to  rem'ain.  He  therefore 
notified  the  President  of  the  decision  to  which  he 
had  come  on  this  point.  The  President  urged  in 
reply  that,  as  Mr.  Stanton  had  been  suspended, 
and  Gen.  Grant  appointed  under  authority  grant- 
ed by  the  Constitution,  and  not  under  any  Act  of 
Congress,  Grant  could  not  be  governed  by  the 
Act.  Grant  rejoined  that  the  law,  whether  con- 
stitutional or  not,  was  binding  upon  him  until  set 
aside  by  the  proper  tribunal.  So  matters  stood 
for  some  days,  until  Mr.  Stanton,  with  whom 
Gen.  Grant  had  held  no  communication,  reassum- 
ed  the  duties  of  his  office,  when  Grant,  who  no 
longer  considered  himself  to  be  Secretary  of  War, 
was  requested  by  the  President  to  attend  a  Cab- 
inet meeting  on  the  14th  of  January ." 

At  this  meeting  the  President  on  his  part  affirms 
that  Grant  acknowledged  "that  he  had  agreed 
either  to  hold  on  to  the  post  until  the  courts 


THE   CONFLICT   WITH  THE   PRESIDENT.         401 

otherwise  decided,  or  to  resign  before  the  Senate 
had  taken  action ; "  that  after  the  promise  was 
given,  he  agreed  to  another  conference,  but  did 
not  attend;  that  the  members  of  the  Cabinet 
coincided  with  him  in  his  views,  &c. 

Grant,  in  reply,  denies  the  correctness  of  this 
statement  of  the  matter  in  toto.  Astonished  at 
the  explicit  charges  of  the  President,  he  adds: 
"  You  know  that  we  parted  on  Saturday,  the  llth 
ult.,  without  any  promise  on  my  part,  either  ex- 
press or  implied,  that  I  would  hold  on  to  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim  against  the 
action  of  the  Senate ;  or,  declining  to  do  so  my- 
self, would  surrender  it  to  you  before  such  action 
was  had ;  or  that  I  would  see  you  at  any  fixed 
time  on  the  subject."  After  going  on  to  say  that 
for  him  to  have  pursued  any  other  course  than  the 
one  he  did,  would  have  been  in  violation  of  law, 
and  subjected  him  to  fine  and  perhaps  imprison- 
ment, he  concludes:  "When  my  honor  as  a  sol- 
dier and  integrity  as  a  man  have  been  so  violently 
assailed,  pardon  me  for  saying  that  I  can  but 
regard  this  whole  matter,  from  beginning  to  end, 
as  an  attempt  to  involve  me  in  the  resistance  of 
law,  for  which  you  hesitated  to  assume  the 
responsibility,  and  thus  to  destroy  my  charac- 
ter before  the  country.  I  am,  in  a  measure,  con- 
firmed in  this  conclusion  by  your  recent  orders 
directing  me  to  disobey  orders  from  the  Sec- 


402  LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

retary  of  War,  ray   superior   and    your   subor 
dinate." 

To  meet  this  direct  denial  of  Grant,  the  Pres- 
ident then  gave  the  versions  of  the  several  members 
of  the  Cabinet  with  regard  to  this  arrangement 
between  Grant  and  himself.  Welles,  McCulloch, 
and  Randall,  say  that  in  all  "  important  particu- 
lars, the  President's  statement  accords  with  their 
recollection  of  the  conversation."  Mr.  Browning 
gives  a  more  lengthy  statement,  and  says  dis- 
tinctly, that  the  last  interview  closed  with  the 
understanding  between  Grant  and  the  President, 
that  no  definite  conclusion  had  been  reached  ;  but 
that  they  would  have  another  conference,  which, 
however,  never  did  take  place.  He  also  makes 
the  following  remarkable  admission :  "  I  did  not 
understand  General  Grant  as  denying  nor  as  ad- 
mitting these  statements  [of  the  President  as  to 
what  had  previously  passed  between  them]  in  the 
form  and  full  extent  to  which  the  President  made 
them.  His  admission  was  rather  indirect  and 
circumstantial,  though  I  did  not  understand  it  to 
be  an  evasive  one."  Mr.  Seward  states,  that  at  this 
meeting  Grant  remarked,  by  way  of  explanation 
for  his  not  attending  the  proposed  conference  :  "I 
was  engaged  on  Sunday,  the  12th,  with  General 
Sherman,  arid  also  on  Monday,  in  regard  to  the 
War  Department  matter,  with  a  hope,  though  he 
did  not  say  with  an  effort,  to  procure  an  amicable 


THfi   EXPLANATION.  403 

settlement  of  the  affair  of  Mr.  Stanton ;  and  he 
still  hoped  that  it  would  be  brought  about71 

Enough  of  this  is  given  to  show  the  points  at 
issue  between  the  President  and  Grant,  and  the 
character  of  the  testimony  by  which  the  former 
sustains  his  statements.  This  testimony,  it  seems, 
is  contradictory.  Mr.  Browning,  though  more  cir- 
cumstantial and  detailed  than  the  others,  does  not 
corroborate  the  President  in  his  strong,  explicit 
assertions  respecting  the  promise  made  by  Grant. 
This  one  fact,  it  seems  to  us,  furnishes  the  key  to  the 
solution  of  the  whole  discrepancy.  It  exhibits,  it 
would  seem,  a  blind  partisan  spirit  rather  than  a 
calm  judgment,  or  proper  respect,  for  either  party 
to  assert,  as  so  many  of  the  adherents  of  each  do, 
that  one  or  the  other  is  guilty  of  a  direct  falsehood. 
It  is  evident,  from  the  want  of  emphatic  direct  testi- 
mony, such  as  a  court  of  law  would  demand  (the 
whole  being  a  sort  of  "  general  recollection  "),  as 
well  as  from  the  fact  that  thev  "  recollect "  on 

V 

some  vital  points  differently,  and  different  from 
the  President,  that  the  whole  matter  was  nothing 

o 

more  than  a  general  understanding  on  both  sides. 
AYliether  Johnson  hesitated  to  press  an  explicit 
agreement,  lest  Grant's  suspicions  should  be 
aroused  arid  he  refuse  point  blank  to  take  any 
part  in  the  transaction  at  all,  or  the  latter  declined 
to  bring  the  matter  to  the  same  definite  conclu- 
sion from  disinclination  to  coine  in  direct  conflict 


404  LIFE   OF  GRANT. 

with  his  commander-in-chief,  is  of  little  conse- 
quence. Let  the  causes  be  what  they  may,  the 
fact  is  evident  from  the  testimony  and  the  cor- 
respondence, that  while  the  "  understanding  "  on 
either  side  might  have  been  this  or  that,  there 
was  no  actual  agreement  entered  into.  Now 
any  impartial  man  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with 
human  nature,  knows  how  easily  two  parties,  each 
looking  at  things  from  his  own  stand-point,  can 
come  to  diametrically  opposite  conclusions  re- 
specting how  much  the  other  was  compromised 
in  a  general  conversation.  Any  business  man 
understands  this.  But  if  great  disappointment 
succeeds  on  one  side,  this  general  understanding 
always  becomes  downright  assertion. 

The  President  was  bitterly  disappointed,  and 
hence  felt  keenly,  and,  regretting  that  he  had  not 
acted  more  promptly  and  definitely,  naturally 
concluded  that  Grant  had  deceived  hinv 

But,  independent  of  all  this,  every  just  man 
must  admit,  without  argument,  that  one  single 
act,  utterly  at  variance  with  the  whole  life  and 
character  of  a  man,  can  never  stand  against 
him  without  the  strongest  and  most  positive 
and  impregnable  testimony.  Now,  if  there  is 
one  thing  that  distinguishes  Grant  above  all  other 
men,  it  is  that  he  is  incapable  of  low  cunning, 
underhand  plotting,  hypocrisy,  and  deceit.  He 
has  never  been  charged  with  or  even  suspected  of 


JUSTIFIED. 


405 


these;  and  to  say  that  such  loose  testimony  as  that 
furnished  by  the  Cabinet  makes  him  such  a  char- 
acter in  this  solitary  case,  is  neither  just  nor  hon- 
orable. Besides,  there  is  a  single  fact  that  seems  to 
be  entirely  overlooked,  which  completely  disproves 
the  charge.  All  agree  that  he  endeavored  to  get 
Sherman  to  help  him  prevail  on  Stanton  to  resign, 
and  thus  relieve  the  President  and  the  country  of 
the  shameful,  humiliating  affair.  This  does  not  look 
like  low  conspiracy  against  the  President,  but  the 
act  of  a  friend  of  all,  and  of  the  country.  Judging 
Stanton  by  himself,  he  thought  there  was  little 
doubt  that  as  soon  as  he  had  won  the  victory  over 
the  President,  his  own  delicacy  and  regard  for  the 
peace  of  the  country  would  prompt  him  to  resign. 
That  he  was  mistaken,  does  not  affect  the  purity  of 
his  motives.  The  act  surely  shows  that  he  was  not 
guilty  of  hypocrisy,  but  wanted  to  adjust  the  mat- 
ter peaceably  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties. 

At  all  events  he  did  right.  He  would  have  been 
untrue  to  himself  had  he  allowed  the  President 
to  make  a  cat's-paw  of  him — involve  him  in  law- 
suits, and  subject  him  perhaps  to  imprisonment, 
and  doubtless  to  odious  legislation.  His  duty 
was  to  keep  aloof  from  such  strifes  as  were  here 
intended  to  be  forced  upon  him. 

Another  cause  of  complaint  against  Grant  has 
been,  that  he  refused  to  sustain  Hancock,  whom 
the  President  put  over  the  military  department 


406  LIFE   OF  GKANT. 

of  Louisiana,  in  place  of  Sheridan.  That  Han- 
cock  is  an  upright  man,  and  too  elevated  in  sen- 
timent and  principle  to  let  partisanship  affect  his 
action,  no  one  who  knows  him  will  doubt.  It  is 
equally  plain  that  his  action  which  Grant  refused 
to  approve,  was  intended  to  serve  the  public  wel- 
fare; but  it  nevertheless  was  the  exercise  of 
military  over  the  civil  authority,  which  Grant 
always  condemned,  unless  there  was  absolute 
necessity  in  the  case.  Moreover,  Hancock  him- 
self had  taken  this  ground  when  he  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  department,  and  been  extolled  by  the 
enemies  of  Grant  for  it.  Yet  these  very  persons, 
who  had  declaimed  loudest  against  the  military 
despotism  exercised  over  the  South,  complained 
of  Grant  for  refusing  to  sanction  it.  The  whole 
matter  is  comprised  in  the  following  statement  of 
Grant,  and  at  the  same  time  reveals  the  spirit 
thafc  animated  him.  He  says :  "  The  office  of  Re- 
corder of  the  City  of  New  Orleans  is  elective  by 
the  people ;  but  in  case  of  a  vacancy  it  is  made 
the  duty  by  law  of  the  Boards  of  Aldermen  and 
Assistant  Aldermen,  in  joint  meeting,  to  elect 
viva  voce  a  person  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The  office 
of  Recorder  of  the  Second  District  of  New  Or- 
leans was,  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana, 
adjudged  vacant;  and  the  City  of  New  Orleans 
was  ordered  to  be  notified  to  proceed  according  to 
law  to  elect  a  Recorder  for  said  district,  which 


HIS   LETTER   TO   HANCOCK.  407 

judgment  was  made  final  January  20,  1868.  In 
pursuance  of  this  order  of  the  Court,  the  Board 
of  Aldermen  and  Assistant  Aldermen  met  in  joint 
session  on  the  4th  of  February,  1868,  to  elect  a 
Recorder  for  said  Second  District.  At  this  ses- 
sion was  read  a  communication  written  by  Capt* 
Chandlee,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Civil  Affairs, 
and  purporting  to  be  by  your  direction,  inviting 
attention  to  the  first  and  second  sections  of  the 
Supplementary  Reconstruction  Act  of  Congress, 
passed  July  19,  1867,  and  to  paragraph  two, 
Special  Order  No.  7,  from  Headquarters  Fifth 
Military  District,  dated  March  28,  1867.  At  the 
date  of  this  communication,  namely,  January  25, 
1868,  and  before  any  action  of  either  branch  of 
the  Council  had  been  had  relative  to  the  election 
therein  referred  to,  you  were  absent  from  the  City 
of  New  Orleans,  in  the  State  of  Texas.  This 
communication  did  not  in  terms  forbid  the  elec- 
tion ;  neither  did  the  sections  of  the  Act  to  which 
it  referred,  except  as  it  might  be  inferred  from  the 
second  section,  wherein  the  District  Commander 
is  empowered,  under  certain  restrictions,  to  fill 
vacancies  occasioned  by  death,  resignation,  or 
otherwise.  Section  nine  of  this  Act,  as  well  as 
the  original  Reconstruction  Act  of  March  2, 1867, 
recognizes  the  right  of  the  State  and  municipal 
authorities  to  appoint  and  elect  officers  under  cer- 
tain restrictions  and  limitations ;  but  the  exercise 


408  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

of  this  right  is  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Dis- 
trict Commander.  Subsequent  to  the  issuing  of 
Special  Order  No.  7,  referred  to,  and  during  the 
administration  of  Gens.  Sheridan  and  Mower,  the 
City  Council  of  New  Orleans  did  in  some  cases 
fill  vacancies  in  corporation  offices  under  the  pro- 
visions of  section  24  of  the  city  charter  of  New 
Orleans  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided  for 
filling  the  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Recorder,  and 
after  you  assumed  command  the  office  of  City  At- 
torney was  filled  under  the  same  authority  and  in 
the  same  manner.  No  exception  was  taken  in 
any  case  by  any  of  the  District  Commanders  to 
such  action.  On  assuming  command  of  the  dis- 
trict, you  announced  in  General  Order  No.  40,  of 
November  29,  1867,  that  it  was  your  purpose  to 
preserve  peace  and  quiet  in  your  command,  and 
that  as  a  means  to  this  great  end  you  regarded 
the  maintenance  of  the  civil  authorities  in  the 
faithful  execution  of  the  laws  as  the  most  efficient 
under  existing  circumstances ;  also,  that  when  the 
civil  authorities  are  ready  and  willing  to  perform 
their  duties  the  military  power  should  cease  to 
lead,  and  the  civil  administration  resume  its 
natural  and  rightful  dominion.  Under  this  state- 
ment of  facts  the  City  Council  of  New  Orleans 
might  reasonably  have  presumed  it  to  be  their 
right  and  duty,  especially  under  the  order  of  the 
Court,  and  your  Order  No.  40,  to  fill  the  vacancy 


RIGHT   VIEWS.  409 

in  the  office  of  Recorder,  as  it  appears  they  did 
from  your  report  of  this  case,  dated  February  15, 
1868.  The  same  facts,  too,  in  connection  with 
the  printed  report  of  their  proceedings,  embraced 
in  your  report  of  February  15,  preclude  the  pre- 
sumption of  any  intended  contempt  of  the  military 
authority  by  the  members  of  the  City  Council." 

Although  in  very  many  cases  it  would  evidently 
be  for  the  best  for  a  one-man  power  to  step  in  and 
prevent  the  wrong  contemplated  by  officers  who 
had  been  elected  by  the  people;  yet  Grant  be- 
lieves that  in  a  republican  government  there  is 
but  one  course  to  pursue — let  the  people  remedy 
their  own  wrongs  by  removing  those  who  have 
abused  their  confidence.  Indeed  this  is  the  only 
course  that  can  be  pursued  in  a  republic — any 
other  is  despotism. 

18 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

The  Presidential  Election  of  1868— General  Grant  Candidate 
of  the  Republican  Party— Elected  by  a  Large  Majority- 
Enters  on  His  Duties  in  Trying  Circumstances— The  Diffi- 
cult Task  before  Him — His  Peculiar  Fitness  for  the  Posi- 
tion— The  Country  Crushed  under  a  Heavy  Debt — The 
Currency  Deranged — Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  Amend- 
ments of  the  Constitution — "Black  Friday" — Reorganiza- 
tion of  the  Southern  States  Completed— Every  State  Back 
in  the  Union — San  Domingo  Petitions  to  be  Annexed 
to  the  United  States — Important  for  the  Government 
to  have  a  Foothold  in  the  West  Indies — The  President 
Sends  a  Commission  to  Inquire  as  to  the  Desirability 
of  the  Measure — Report  Favorably — Opposition  to  it 
— Defeated — The  Alabama  Claims — A  Joint  Commis- 
sion to  Settle  Them— The  Whole  Matter  Referred  to  a 
Board  of  Arbitration  to  be  Appointed  by  the  European 
Powers— The  United  States  Awarded  Fifteen  and  a  Half 
Millions — Settlement  of  the  Vancouver  Boundary  Line — 
Unsettled  State  of  the  South, 

As  the  time  now  drew  near  for  another  Presi- 
dential election,  all  eyes  were  turned  toward 
General  Grant  as  the  most  available  candidate. 
For  some  time  it  was  doubtful  which  party 
would  nominate  him.  He  finally  became  the 
candidate  of  the  Eepublican  Party,  and  received 
the  nomination  by  acclamation.  He  carried  the 
North  almost  solid,  and  received  a  large  ma- 


ELECTED   PRESIDENT.  411 

jority  of  the  electoral  votes.  No  President  of 
this  republic,  or  probably  of  any  other,  ever 
went  into  power  under  more  trying  circum- 
stances, or  entered  on  a  more  difficult  task  than 
he.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was  no  man  in 
the  nation  more  fitted  to  meet  both  successfully. 
The  bitter  hatred  that  still  existed  between  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  North  and  South,  the  al- 
most equally  bitter  hatred  that  divided  the  two 
great  parties  North,  rendered  it  impossible  for 
him,  or  any  other  President,  to  please  a  portion 
only  of  the  people,  if  he  took  a  just  and  truly 
patriotic  course. 

These  embarrassing  circumstances  became  still 
more  complicated  from  the  fact  that  he  did  not 
sympathize  fully  with  the  great  body  of  his 
own  party.  The  long  and  bitter  struggle  in  the 
field  had  ended,  it  is  true,  in  the  restoration  of 
the  Union  legally,  but  no  two  hostile  States 

twere  ever  farther  apart,  or  more  completely  dis- 
united, than  the  two  sections  of  the  Union.  To 
the  extreme  radical  party  North,  headed  by  the 
great  majority  of  Republican  Congressmen,  the 
union  for  the  present  meant  the  kind  of  union 
that  had  recently  existed  between  master  and 
slave  in  the  South,  made  still  worse  by  hatred 
and  suspicion  on  the  one  side,  and  hatred  and 
irritation  on  the  other.  General  Grant  cher- 
ished none  of  these  feelings.  He  had  fought 


412  "LIFE  OF  GRANT. 

long  and  gallantly  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Union,  not  merely  one  under  a  common  constitu- 
tion and  common  government,  but  a  union  of  in- 
terest and  feeling.  His  unselfish,  lofty  policy 
was  to  let  bygones  be  bygones,  and  each  and 
all  address  themselves  to  build  up  a  common 
country,  and  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  under 
a  common  flag.  It  was  evident  that  such  a 
course  as  this,  which  the  President  had  marked 
out,  would  meet  with  constant  hindrances  and 
open  opposition,  and  he  must  look  to  the  future, 
when  passion  had  subsided,  for  the  full  justifi- 
cation of  his  course.  Lincoln  would  unques- 
tionably have  pursued  the  same  policy  as  he, 
but  whether  he  could  have  carried  it  out  suc- 
cessfully is  doubtful.  Great,  magnanimous, 
and  far-seeing  as  he  was,  he  had  not  that  stub- 
bornness of  will,  that  inflexibility  of  purpose, 
which  characterized  Grant.  The  knowledge  of 
these  qualities  by  those  who  surrounded  him 
controlled  their  action  far  more  than  the  ex- 
hibition of  them  did.  They  did  not  care  to  call 
them  forth.  He  was  in  this  respect  like  Gen- 
eral Jackson — men  did  not  oppose  him,  and 
then  give  way  before  his  indomitable  will,  but 
stopped  before  arousing  it.  Grant  knew  that 
a  stormy  future  was  before  him ;  not  only  would 
he  have  to  breast  a  sea  of  surging  hate,  but 
must  meet  a  distracted  state  of  public  affairs. 


DIFFICULTIES    OF    HIS   POSITION.  413 

The  nation  was  reeling  under  a  crushing  debt, 
with  its  business  paralyzed,  and  its  currency 
almost  hopelessly  deranged.  But  he  addressed 
•himself  to  the  task  to  which  he  had  set  himself 
with  the  same  calm,  resolute  courage  with  which 
he  had  met  the  enemy  on  the  field  of  battle. 
One  of  the  most  absorbing  topics  at  the  time 
he  entered  on  his  office  was  the  reconstruction 
of  the  South.  The  Fourteenth  Amendment,  es- 
tablishing the  right  of  citizenship  to  all  persons 
born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  had 
just  been  ratified  by  the  necessary  majority  of 
the  States.  On  the  top  of  this  another  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution,  conferring  the  right  of 
suffrage  on  all  the  emancipated  slaves,  was  also 
ratified,  and  became  a  part  of  the  organic  law 
of  the  land.  It  passed  Congress  just  before  the 
close  of  Johnson's  administration,  and  on  March 
30,  1870,  was,  by  proclamation  of  President 
Grant,  declared  a  part  of  the  Constitution. 

The  unscrupulous  gold  speculation  of  Gould 
<fe  Fisk,  terminating  in  the  well-known  "  Black 
Friday,"  occurred  during  the  autumn  of  the  first 
year  of  his  administration,  1869,  which  con- 
vulsed the  entire  country.  The  conspirators  en- 
deavored to  beguile  the  President,  by  specious 
pretences  and  false  representations,  to  indirectly 
abet  their  schemes,  and  for  a  time  his  enemies 
made  serious  hints  impugning  his  integrity,  but 


414  LIFE   OF   GBANT. 

when  the  smoke  cleared  away  from  the  ruins 
the  whole  truth  became  known,  and  these  pul> 
lie  robbers  were  unmasked. 

In  the  first  three  months  of  the  next  year/ 
1870,  the  reorganization  of  the  Southern  States 
was  completed,  and  in  the  opening  month  of 
the  following  year  Grant  saw  with  pleasure  the 
Senators  and  Representatives  from  Virginia,  the 
mother  of  Presidents,  take  their  seats  in  Con- 
gress, and  the  "  Old  Dominion  "  once  more  back 
in  the  Union.  The  other  seceding  States  fol- 
lowed in  rapid  succession,  and,  on  March  30th, 
Texas,  the  last  of  all,  once  more  took  her  place 
beside  her  sister  States — thirty-seven  in  all. 

Two  of  the  most  important  events  in  Grant's  ad- 
ministration occurred  in  the  opening  of  the  fol- 
lowing year.  The  question  of  the  United  States 
having  some  port  of  its  own  in  the  West  India 
Islands  had  been  long  discussed  by  our  wisest 
statesmen.  This  vast  group  of  islands,  separated 
only  by  a  channel  from  our  coast,  is  divided  up 
among  the  European  powers,  even  little  Den- 
mark having  possessions  there,  and  England  a 
naval  station,  while  the  most  interested  party  of 
all,  the  United  States,  had  not  a  port  that  she 
could  call  her  own.  San  Domingo  having  sent 
in  a  petition  to  become  annexed  to  the  United 
States,  the  President  thought  it  a  good  time  to 
obtain  a  foothold  in  those  important  islands,  and 


OF   SOUTHERN   STATES.       4lo 

sent  a  commission  to  the  island  to  examine  the 
condition  of  things  and  report  to  Congress. 
After  three  months'  absence  they  returned,  and 
reported  in  favor  of  annexation.  A  treaty  to 
effect  this,  and  also  one  by  which  the  peninsula 
and  bay  of  Samana  were  ceded  to  the  United 
States  for  fifty  years,  at  an  annual  rental  of 
$150,000  in  gold,  was  signed  November  29, 
1869,  on  behalf  of  President  Grant  and  Presi- 
dent Baez.  Early  in  1870  these  treaties  were 
confirmed  by  a  popular  vote  in  San  Domingo ; 
but  it  was  asserted  that  a  free  election  had  not 
been  held,  and,  moreover,  that,  in  anticipation 
of  annexation,  the  Dominican  Government  had 
granted  to  private  individuals  every  valuable 
franchise  or  piece  of  property  in  its  possession. 
In  conformity  with  a  resolution  of  Congress, 
President  Grant  appointed  B.  F.  Wade,  of  Ohio ; 
A.  D.  White,  of  New  York;  and  S.  G.  Howe,  of 
Massachusetts,  as  commissioners  to  visit  San 
Domingo,  accompanied  by  several  scientific  men, 
and  report  upon  the  condition  of  the  country, 
the  government,  and  the  people.  Their  report, 
submitted  in  April,  1871,  was  favorable  to  an 
nexation ;  but  the  Senate  withheld  its  approval 
of  the  treaties. 

The  other  important  event  that  signalized  the 
first  term  of  his  administration  was  the  settle- 
ment of  claims  against  England,  for  the  damage 


416  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

done  to  our  commerce  by  her  cruisers  during  the 
Civil  War.  While  the  issue  of  the  war  seemed 
doubtful,  her  indifference  to  Mr.  Se ward's  strong 
remonstrances  came  near  bringing  on  war  be- 
tween it  and  our  Government.  But  the  success- 
ful close  of  that  war,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
Union,  put  a  different  aspect  on  the  matter,  and 
Great  Britain  felt  that  this  delicate,  irritating 
question  could  not  be  settled  too  quickly.  As 
the  Alabama  had  done  the  most  mischief,  and 
had  been  fitted  out  from  an  English  port,  these 
were  called  the  Alabama  claims.  A  joint  com- 
mission to  settle  them,  composed  of  five  British 
and  five  American  statesmen,  was  appointed, 
and  met  in  Washington  on  February  27,  1871. 
The  question  was  beset  with  great  difficulties, 
and  the  discussion  of  it  was  protracted  until, 
finding  themselves  unable  to  agree,  it  was  re- 
solved to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  a  Board  of 
Arbitration  to  be  appointed  by  the  European  na- 
tions. It  assembled  the  next  year  in  Switzerland, 
where,  after  a  long  and  patient  hearing  of  both 
sides,  the  Board  decided  in  favor  of  the  United 
States,  and  awarded  damages  to  the  amount  of 
fifteen  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
This  was  a  brilliant  closing  of  Grant's  first  ad- 
ministration. In  this  year,  also,  he  saw  the  long- 
disputed  boundary  line  between  Vancouver's 
Island  and  the  mainland  settled.  By  the  treaty 


THE    ALABAMA    CLAIMS.  417 

of  1840  it  was  agreed  that  it  should  follow  the 
channel  between  them.  But  there  were  several 
channels,  and  the  question  was  to  determine 
which  one  was  meant.  After  vain  attempts  of 
the  two  nations  to  settle  it,  it  was  referred  to 
the  Emperor  of  Germany,  who  took  our  view 
of  the  construction  of  the  treaty,  and  the  last 
disputed  boundary  question  between  the  two 
countries  was  disposed  of.  The  only  cloud  that 
darkened  the  horizon  at  the  close  of  the  first 
four  years  of  Grant's  administration  was  the 
unsettled  state  of  affairs  in  the  South.  It  is 
true  the  States  had  been  restored  to  their  origi- 
nal status  so  far  as  acts  of  Congress  could  do 
it,  but  placing  votes  immediately  in  the  hands 
of  the  millions  of  ignorant  slaves  naturally 
threw  the  whole  social  and  political  world  of 
the  South  into  confusion,  and  engendered  a  bit- 
terness of  feeling  equal  to  that  produced  by  the 
Avar,  and  which  Grant  hoped  would  die  out  with 
the  return  of  peace.  Hence  the  preparations 
for  the  Presidential  election  of  1872  were  of 
the  most  exciting  character  and  awakened  the 
intensest  interest.  The  Republicans  with  great 
unanimity  renominated  General  Grant  for  a 
second  term. 


CHAPTER  XXVin. 

The  Democrats  Nominate  Horace  Greeley,  Editor  of  the  Trib- 
une— Excitement  Caused  by  the  Bitterness  of  the  Cam- 
paign— Grant  Sympathizes  with  the  Angry  Feelings  of 
Neither — An  Evenly  Balanced  Character  Needed — His 
Election — Modoc  War — Serious  Troubles  in  Louisiana — 
Charges  of  Military  Usurpation  Against  the  President — 
His  Action  Eight — The  Credit  Mobilier — Distracted  State 
of  the  Currency — The  Great  Centennial  Exhibition — The 
Sioux  War — The  Contested  Presidential  Election — Gen- 
eral Grant's  Course  Defended — His  Last  Sound  Advice  to 
Congress — The  Future  Generation  Alone  can  do  Him  Jus- 
tice. 

THE  South,  in  its  deplorable,  helpless  condi- 
tion, was  willing  to  take  anyone,  no  matter 
how  distasteful  to  them  personally,  that  would 
in  any  way  check  the  tyranny  of  the  Republican 
Party  over  them.  Having  exhausted  in  their 
long  struggle  their  own  resources — the  emanci- 
pation of  their  slaves  not  only  stripped  them 
of  every  species  of  property,  but  took  away  the 
means  of  restoring  themselves — so  they  accepted 
Horace  Greeley  as  the  Democratic  candidate, 
hoping  that  he  could  carry  enough  Northern 
States  to  defeat  the  Republican  candidate.  The 
acceptance  of  this  nomination  by  the  editor  of 
the  Tribune  awakened  the  most  intense  excite- 


SECOND    PRESIDENTIAL   CAMPAIGN.  419 

ment  The  political  campaign  was  a  very  bit- 
ter one.  All  the  exasperating  reminiscences  of 
the  war  were  evoked;  all  the  hatred  of  the 
South  to  the  North  magnified  and  highly  col- 
ored; all  the  worst  passions  of  man  were  ap- 
pealed to  on  the  one  side,  while  on  the  other 
the  assumption  of  military  power  over  free 
States,  the  hypocrisy  of  the  pretended  patriotic 
desire  for  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  when 
there  was  simply  a  determination  to  hold  the 
South  in  a  state  of  subserviency,  were  dwelt 
upon  and  magnified ;  in  short,  the  appeals  to 
passions,  prejudices,  fears — everything,  except  to 
reason,  justice,  and  true  patriotism — constituted 
the  capital  on  which  politicians  on  both  sides 
carried  on  the  campaign.  Grant  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  either  side  in  these  extravagant 
views.  As  temperate,  just,  and  magnanimous 
as  he  was  in  the  conditions  he  required  in  the 
surrender  of  Lee,  he  now,  as  then,  had  but  one 
purpose — the  complete  restoration  of  the  Union, 
not  in  name,  but  in  fact.  That  under  these  pe- 
culiar circumstances  and  exposed  to  these  con- 
flicting views,  not  of  ignorant,  passionate  men 
merely,  but  of  those  holding  highest  rank  as 
statesmen,  he  should  often  be  misunderstood, 
nay,  make  mistakes,  was  inevitable;  otherwise 
he  must  claim  infallibility.  In  years  to  come, 
when  the  present  generation  shall  have  passed 


420  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

away  with  its  passions,  prejudices,  and  distorted 
views,  the  evenly  balanced  mind,  imperturbable 
temperament,  and  strong  common  sense  of  Grant 
will  be  seen  to  have  been  quite  as  serviceable 
to  us  in  our  political  turmoil  as  they  were  in 
the  whirlwind  of  civil  war.  What  he  declined 
to  do  was  quite  as  important  as  what  he 
did  do.  The  popular  demand  was  for  an  ener- 
getic, one-sided,  positive  character ;  the  need  of 
the  times  was  for  a  patient,  quiet,  and  calm 
one. 

The  day  of  election  came  and  went  amid  the 
wildest  excitement,  and  when  it  closed  the  peo- 
ple were  amazed  at  the  overwhelming  defeat  of 
Greeley  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  electoral  votes.  The  excitement 
of  the  canvass  and  chagrin  at  the  result  had 
such  an  effect  that  the  large  brain  gave  way, 
and  in  less  than  a  month  Greeley  was  laid  in 
the  grave,  where  the  commotions  of  life  cease 
forever. 

Grant  entered  on  his  second  term  of  office 
with  the  country  quiet,  though  the  South  was 
still  agitated  and  unsettled. 

An  order  had  been  issued  to  remove  the  Mo- 
doc  Indians  from  their  land  on  the  southern 
shore  of  Lake  Klamath,  in  Oregon,  to  a  new 
reservation,  which  they  resisted,  and,  taking  up 
a  position  in  a  volcanic  region  known  as  the 


LOUISIANA    DISTURBANCES.  421 

Lava  Beds,  held  the  United  States  troops  at  de- 
fiance all  winter.  This,  however,  was  a  small 
disturbance  compared  to  that  which  occurred 
in  Louisiana  in  the  early  part  of  the  next  year, 
1873.  The  terrible  upheaval  of  Southern  soci- 
ety by  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves,  in  some 
States  amounting  in  number  to  nearly  half  the 
entire  population,  threw  everything  into  chaos, 
and  furnished  just  the  occasion  that  unprin- 
cipled adventurers  desired.  Some  were  thrown 
to  the  surface  there,  others  rushed  down  from 
the  North  eager  to  make  use  of  the  ignorant, 
senseless  vote  of  the  negro  to  accomplish  their 
personal  ends,  and  "  carpet-baggers  "  became  a 
popular  cry  over  the  land.  Louisiana  seemed 
to  be  especially  selected  as  the  most  prominent 
field  of  operations  for  this  class  of  men.  Under 
their  reckless  management  two  sets  of  Presiden- 
tial Electors  had  been  chosen  the  previous  au- 
tumn, but,  as  it  was  without  any  practical  effect 
in  the  election  of  Grant,  it  attracted  but  little 
attention ;  but  what  was  unfortunately  more 
serious,  by  these  same  rival  boards  two  Gov- 
ernors, McEnery  and  Kellogg,  and  two  hostile 
Legislatures  were  chosen,  and,  of  course,  two 
State  governments  organized.  This  threatened 
to  throw  the  State  into  civil  war.  But  the 
Government  decided  in  favor  of  Kellogg,  which 
restored  comparative  peace.  The  next  year, 


422  LIFE   OF   GRAOT. 

however,  the  disturbances  broke  out  again  when 
Dr.  Hahn,  who  had  been  elected  Lieutenant- 
Governor  under  McEnery,  with  his  adherents 
rose  in  arms  and  entrenched  themselves  in  the 
Court-house.  This  produced  the  greatest  ex- 
citement. Kellogg  issued  his  proclamation  or- 
dering the  insurgents  to  disperse.  No  attention 
being  paid  to  this,  and  having  no  power  to  en- 
force it,  he  called  on  the  general  Government  for 
aid,  and  a  body  of  national  troops  was  sent  to 
him.  A  forced  cessation  of  hostilities  succeeded, 
only  to  appear  again  the  next  year  still  more 
violently,  and  so  the  troops  remained  quartered 
in  New  Orleans.  Nothing  since  the  close  of  the 
war  had  awakened  more  bitter,  intense  hostility 
against  Grant  in  the  Democratic  Party  and 
throughout  the  South  than  this  act.  He  was* 
denounced  as  a  military  usurper,  a  second 
Caesar,  who  overawed  the  Legislature  and  Gov- 
ernor actually  elected  by  the  people.  Like  all 
military  despots,  he  was  determined,  they  said, 
to  rule  by  the  bayonet ;  and  declared  that  the 
liberties  of  the  people  were  endangered.  It 
was  asserted  that  Kellogg  and  his  Legislature 
were  fraudulently  elected,  and  that  tyranny 
could  no  farther  go  when  it  upheld  a  fraudu- 
lent government  by  United  States  soldiers. 
That  the  Kellogg  government  was  a  fraud  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  It  was  said  the  other  was 


CONTINUED   EXCITEMENT.  423 

equally  so.  Eight  here  comes  the  great  diffi- 
culty that  those  who  denounced  Grant  for  his 
action  entirely  overlooked.  Here  were  two 
rival  governments,  and  who  was  to  decide 
which  was  the  true  one?  Not  the  President. 
The  Constitution  that  requires  him  peremptorily 
to  despatch  troops  to  the  aid  of  the  government 
of  any  State  when  that  government  asks  him, 
because  it  is  unable  to  restore  order  itself, 
gives  him  no  liberty  to  decide  whether  the 
election  returns  have  been  tampered  with,  nor 
on  which  side  were  the  most  bribery  and  cor- 
ruption. Congress  and  the  State  courts  have 
supreme  control  over  this.  Although  it  could 
be  charged,  and  truthfully,  that  Congress  was 
governed  by  partisan  views  and  the  State  court's 
decision  had  been  obtained  by  bribes,  it  could 
in  nowise  affect  the  action  of  the  President. 
By  whatever  means  the  decision  between  the 
two  rival  governments  may  be  reached,  when  ifc 
is  reached  the  one  which  is  declared  to  be  the 
true  government  becomes  the  right  one  to  him, 
however  his  private  opinions  may  differ  from  the 
powers  whose  action  is  final.  From  that  mo- 
ment his  duty  is  plain,  his  course  is  clear.  Then 
his  responsibility  begins.  He  is  no  longer  a  free 
agent.  If  the  government  is  thus  established 
by  forms  of  law,  no  matter  whether  it  is  a  fraud- 
uleht  government  in  fact  or  not,  he  is  bound  by 


424  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

his  oath  to  protect  it  from  violence,  if  required 
to  do  so.  It  does  not  look  well,  it  is  true,  to 
see  in  a  republican  government  the  army  keep- 
ing the  people's  representatives  out  of  the  capi- 
tol  by  the  bayonet,  but  in  such  contingency  it 
has  got  to  be  done — one  party  or  the  other  has 
got  to  be  sustained,  or  there  will  be  no  govern- 
ment unless  a  civil  war  in  the  State  be  left  to 
desolate  it  till  one  or  the  other  settles  the  ques- 
tion by  mere  force  of  arms.  We  have  gone 
thus  at  length  into  this  because  no  act  of  Grant 
during  his  administration  called  down  on  his 
head  such  bitter,  unsparing  denunciations,  and 
we  think  that  this  mere  statement  of  the  case 
settles  it.  It  shows  that  if  Grant  had  taken  upon 
himself  to  decide  which  was  the  true  govern- 
ment, and  sent  troops  to  uphold  it,  the  charges 
of  tyrant  and  military  despot  would  have  been 
pre-eminently  true.  If  he  had  done  what 
those  who  condemned  his  course  wanted  him  to 
do,  he  would  have  usurped  a  power  he  did 
not  possess,  and  which  should  have  caused  his 
impeachment  and  summary  dismissal  from  his 
high  office. 

There  is  another  event  that  occurred  in  the 
beginning  of  his  second  term  which  gives  a  dis- 
tinctive mark  to  it — the  Credit  Mobilier  affair 
— the  investigations  into  which  showed  such  a 
demoralized  condition  of  things  in  Congress 


THE    CURRENCY    PROBLEM.  425 

that  every  true  patriot  looked  upon  it  with 
amazement  and  shame. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  undertakings  dur- 
ing Grant's  term  of  office  was  the  regula- 
tion of  the  currency.  The  war  had  thrown 
it  into  seemingly  inextricable  confusion.  Its 
fluctuation  was  the  chief  cause  of  the  failure 
of  the  great  banking  house  of  Jay  Cooke  & 
Company,  of  Philadelphia.  It  seemed  to  com- 
plete the  disaster,  and  business  was  every- 
where paralyzed,  which  increased  the  public 
clamor  against  the  Government.  This  sad  state 
of  things  was  not  caused  and  could  not  be  helped 
by  any  act  of  Grant.  Whatever  the  Government 
could  do  to  relieve  the  country  was  done,  but  it 
was  evident  that  time  only  could  restore  it  to  the 
prosperous  condition  it  was  in  before  the  war. 
That  most  effectual  of  all  remedies  for  all  finan- 
cial catastrophes — confidence — was  wanting. 

But  the  one  great  event  that  marked  and  will 
mark  in  future  history  Grant's  administration 
was  the  celebration  of  the  Centennial  of  the 
American  Independence  at  Philadelphia.  This 
was  done  by  a  great  Exposition,  not  merely  of 
the  nation,  but  of  the  world.  All  the  nations, 
Great  Britain  among  them,  were  to  unite  in  it. 
The  first  great  trouble  was  to  get  the  necessary 
money  for  such  a  magnificent  enterprise,  which 
was  estimated  would  cost  eight  millions  and  a 


426  LIFE  OF 

half.  It  was  said  that  the  Government  had  no 
power  to  appropriate  the  public  money  for  such 
a  purpose,  so  none  was  appropriated.  The  State 
Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  however,  had  no 
such  scruples,  and  led  off  with  an  appropriation 
of  one  million,  or  nearly  one-eighth  of  the  sum 
estimated  to  be  necessary,  while  Philadelphia 
raised  a  million  and  a  half  more.  It  looked  as 
if  the  National  Government  was  going  to  be  left 
out  of  the  great  undertaking  altogether,  for 
after  it  had  twice  voted  not  to  give  a  cent,  dis- 
tant Japan  contributed  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars  toward  it.  This  is  not  the  place  to  go 
into  the  history  of  this  great  event  which  closed 
up  the  first  hundred  years  of  the  Republic — a 
hundred  years  crowded  with  more  improvements 
and  discoveries  and  advancement  in  human  lib- 
erty than  any  hundred  years  since  the  world 
began. 

All  difficulties  were  at  length  surmounted, 
and  the  morning  of  May  10th  was  fixed  for  the 
formal  opening  of  the  great  Exhibition.  The 
city  was  packed  with  visitors  from  limit  to 
limit,  and  though  the  day  broke  gloomily  and 
dark,  everything  was  forgotten  in  the  excite- 
ment of  the  hour.  President  Grant,  who  was 
to  open  the  Exhibition  formally,  was  escorted 
by  four  thousand  soldiers  to  Fairmount  Park^ 
where  General  Hawley,  President  of  the  Gen/ 


INTERNATIONAL    EXHIBITION.  427 

tennial  Commission,  presented  the  International 
Exhibition  to  him  in  a  formal  address.  The 
latter  made  a  brief  and  happy  reply,  in  which, 
having  referred  to  the  wonderful  advance  made 
in  our  country  in  the  last  hundred  years,  he 
closed  with  asking  his  fellow -citizens  to  give 
their  generous  co-operation  with  the  worthy 
commissioners  "  to  secure  a  brilliant  success  to 
this  International  Exhibition  and  to  make  the 
stay  of  our  foreign  visitors,  to  whom  '  we  ex- 
tend a  hearty  welcome,'  both  profitable  and 
pleasant  to  them,"  and  then  said, 

"J  declare  the  INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITION 
now  opened" 

The  next  moment  the  national  colors  swung 
out  from  the  great  flag-staff  of  the  main  build- 
ing, the  flags  of  the  various  nations  followed  in 
rapid  succession,  filling  the  air  with  banners, 
while  deafening  cheers  from  the  countless  thou- 
sands, stretching  far  as  the  eye  could  see, 
shook  the  very  heavens,  and  a  hundred  cannon 
sent  back  the  shout. 

At  twenty  minutes  past  one  President  Grant, 
standing  on  a  raised  platform  with  the  Emperor 
of  Brazil  by  his  side,  opened  the  valves  of  the 
great  Corliss  engine,  the  ponderous  wheels 
slowly  began  to  revolve,  and  soon  every  engine 
in  the  vast  structure  was  in  full  motion. 

The   buildings  and  grounds  were   crowded 


428  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

from  this  tirne  till  November  10th,  when,  after 
imposing  ceremonies  and  speeches,  the  President 
arose  in  the  presence  of  a  hundred  thousand 
people,  and  said, 

"I  declare  the  INTERNATIONAL  EXHIBITION 
dosed" 

The  valves  were  shut,  and  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  successful  undertakings  the  world  had 
ever  seen  was  triumphantly  closed. 

The  last  year  of  Grant's  administration  was 
noted  for  the  war  with  the  Sioux  Indians,  led 
by  Sitting  Bull,  in  which  the  gallant  General 
Ouster  lost  his  life.  After  a  long  struggle  the 
savage  chieftain  was  compelled  to  take  refuge 
in  Canada. 

But  the  Presidential  election  now  absorbed 
the  attention  to  the  exclusion  of  almost  every- 
thing else.  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio,  re- 
ceived the  nomination  of  the  Republican  Party 
and  Samuel  J.  Tilden  of  the  Democratic.  The  lat- 
ter received  the  majority  of  the  electoral  votes, 
but  as  some  of  these  were  declared  fraudulent, 
the  Senate,  being  Republican,  refused  to  let  the 
House,  which  was  largely  Democratic  and  would 
control  the  joint  ballot,  join  in  counting  that 
vote  or  rather  in  deciding  what  was  fraudulent. 
This  monstrous  and  unprecedented  declaration 
that  it  alone  had  not  only  the  power  to  count 
the  electoral  votes,  but  decide  which  should  be 


CONTESTED    PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTION.         429 

thrown  out,  threw  the  country  into  the  wildest 
excitement,  and  it  was  openly  declared  that 
under  such  a  decision  the  declared  President 
should  never  take  his  seat.  There  was  no  ques- 
tion if  the  Republican  Senate  persisted  in  its 
right  to  throw  out  such  electoral  votes  as  it 
deemed  proper,  and  undertook  to  install  a  Presi- 
dent of  its  own  making,  there  might  be  open 
resistance,  and  another  civil  war  inaugurated; 
not  between  the  North  and  South,  but  between 
the  two  great  political  parties  of  the  North. 
Undoubtedly,  if  there  had  not  been  a  compromise 
made,  more  extraordinary  in  its  nature  even  than 
the  claim  of  the  Senate,  and  far  more  unconstitu- 
tional, there  would  have  been.  In  this  heated, 
maddened  state  of  feelings,  there  came  a  report 
that  Grant  was  massing  troops  around  Washing- 
ton, for  the  sole  purpose  of  settling  the  disputed 
question  by  the  bayonet.  It  was  the  old  cry  over 
again  which  always  fires  the  blood  of  a  free  citi- 
zen, that  the  bayonet  is  to  take  the  place  of  popu- 
lar suffrage.  This  was  simply  another  illustra- 
tion of  the  unreasonableness  of  the  people  when 
under  the  influence  of  party  feeling  or  strong 
excitement.  If  this  conflict  continued  between 
the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate, 
and  the  latter  insisted  on  inaugurating  a  Presi- 
dent of  its  own  in  utter  contempt  of  the  former, 
it  was  very  plain  there  was  great  danger  that 


430  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

the  resistance  of  the  popular  branch  of  Congress 
would  be  sustained,  if  necessary,  by  that  portion 
of  the  people  sympathizing  with  it,  and  there 
would  be  great  danger  of  a  gathering  of  the 
masses  at  the  attempted  inauguration,  which 
would  provoke  a  collision  and  a  riot  that  the  po- 
lice could  not  control,  and  the  disastrous  results 
of  which  no  man  could  foretell.  Now,  in  such  a 
condition  of  things,  what  was  the  duty  of  the 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Union  ?  Very  plainly, 
indubitably  this — to  see  that  such  an  outbreak 
should  be  put  down.  A  local  riot  was  clearly 
not  the  way  to  settle  a  Presidential  election.  But 
the  charge  rung  over  the -land  that  Grant  was  the 
tool  of  the  Republican  Party,  and  designed  to 
use  the  United  States  troops  to  carry  out  their 
wishes  without  regard  to  constitutional  pro- 
visions or  justice.  If  these  charges  were  true, 
the  denunciations  that  fell  thick  as  hail  upon 
his  head  were  well  deserved.  But  the  trouble 
was  there  was  not  a  particle  of  evidence  to  sus- 
tain such  a  damning  accusation.  He  did  noth- 
ing but  take  the  precautions  it  was  his  bounden 
duty  to  take ;  made  not  a  single  movement  that 
if,  under  the  circumstances,  he  had  not  made,  he 
would  have  been  derelict  in  his  duty  as  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Union.  What  he  would  have 
done  is  a  matter  of  conjecture,  and  on  that  alone 
the  abuse  of  him  was  poured.  What  he  did  do 


GRANT'S  COURSE  DEFENDED.  431 

no  man  of  common  sense  and  justice,  if  lie  for 
one  moment  can  get  outside  of  his  strong  party 
prejudices,  can  condemn.  Still  it  gave  a  stormy 
close  to  his  administration,  and  caused  to  be 
heaped  on  his  head  accusations  which,  however 
unjust,  can  never  be  avoided  in  such  a  terribly 
heated  state  of  public  feeling  as  that  which 
characterized  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Hayes. 

When  it  was  done  the  public  career  of  Grant 
had  ended,  so  far  as  the  holding  of  any  official 
position  in  his  country  was  concerned.  His 
administration  of  the  Government  for  eight 
years  had,  from  the  circumstances  attending  it, 
been  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  difficult 
of  any  since  the  first  four  years  of  that  of 
Washington.  In  the  chaotic  state,  politically 
and  financially,  in  which  the  country  was  placed, 
to  satisfy  all  was  impossible,  while  to  steer  clear 
of  rocks  and  quicksand  almost  equally  impos- 
sible. That  any  other  man  could  have  done  as 
well  as  Grant  we  doubt. 

His  own  straightforward  statement  in  regard 
to  himself,  in  his  last  message  to  Congress,  can 
be  accepted  as  the  simple  truth.  He  says  that, 
though  he  does  not  claim  freedom  from  errors  of 
judgment,  he  does  claim  that  in  every  instance 
he  has  been  actuated  from  a  conscientious  de- 
sire to  do  what  was  right  and  constitutional,  and 
within  the  law,  and  for  the  very  best  interests 


432  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

of  the  people.  A  ruler  who  can  conscientious- 
ly say  that,  as  he  lays  down  the  power  the  peo- 
ple have  intrusted  to  him,  need  never  fear  the 
verdict  of  history.  After  the  mists  of  preju- 
dice and  passion,  and  the  distorted  views  that 
always  exist  in  time  of  fierce  party  conflict 
have  disappeared,  his  character  will  appear  in 
the  true  light. 

In  his  last  advice  to  Congress,  he  urges  it  to 
ignore  the  past  in  its  legislation,  and  address 
itself  to  the  future,  and  recommends  a  general 
amnesty  to  the  South,  so  that  all  could  hold  of- 
fice. Nothing  exhibits  the  magnanimity  of  the 
man  more  strikingly  than  the  contrast  he  pre- 
sented at  this  time  to  the  majority  in  Congress. 
For  four  long  years  he  had  perilled  his  life  on 
the  battle-field  for  his  country,  and  yet  now, 
while  doing  the  same  brave  battle  for  it  as  Chief 
Magistrate,  he  was  misrepresented,  lied  about, 
and  hunted  to  the  death.  Still,  none  of  these 
things  aroused  him,  and  he  retains  no  resent- 
ments, and  thinks  only  of  the  good  of  a  common 
country.  He  advises,  also,  the  States  to  provide 
common  schools  for  all  its  youths  and  children, 
and  that  the  attendance  on  them  be  compulsory, 
•feeling  that  ignorance  is  one  of  the  greatest 
dangers  to  the  stability  of  the  republic.  He 
says,  too,  that  no  sectarianism  should  be  taught 
in  them,  a  counsel  that  our  pothouse  poli- 


LAST    ADVICE    TO    CONGRESS.  433 

ticians  would  do  well  to  heed.  He  says,  more- 
over, that  those  who,  after  1890,  cannot  read 
and  write  should  be  denied  the  right  of  suf- 
frage. [The  fact  that  while  politicians  can  con- 
trol ignorant  votes  this  last  advice  can  never  be 
followed,  its  wisdom  and  foresight  are  none  the 
less  true.]  That  miserable  sophism,  the  ab- 
stract right  of  suffrage  of  every  man,  he  repu- 
diated, knowing  that  intelligence  alone  could 
bestow  that  right,  and  that  intelligence  and 
virtue  are  the  only  safeguards  of  the  republic. 

A  proper  appreciation  of  the  circumstances 
which  surrounded  him,  and  the  obstacles  that 
met  him  at  every  step  in  the  path  he  desired  to 
pursue,  will  never  be  fairly  appreciated  until 
this  generation  has  passed  away,  and  one  uninflu- 
enced by  the  passions  and  party  prejudices  of 
the  present  has  taken  its  place.  That  he  some- 
times erred  in  judgment,  and  made  grave  mis- 
takes, it  would  be  foolish  to  deny,  unless  we 
say  he  was  more  than  human.  Great  men  al- 
most invariably  have  strong  and  positive  char- 
acteristics, which  designing,  selfish,  unscrupu- 
lous men  often  use  to  their  own  benefit.  Jack- 
son's attachment  to  his  friends,  and  hatred  of 
his  enemies,  were  well  known,  so  that  with  his 
peculiarly  obstinate  will,  if  either  the  one  or 
the  other  could  be  secured,  the  object  sought 
for  was  certain  to  be  obtained.  Grant  had  all 


434 


LIFE   OF   GRANT. 


Jackson's  attachment  to  his  friends,  and  his  ot> 
stinate  will,  without  his  hatred  of  his  enemies, 
so  that  the  weak  point  to  assail  in  him  was 
through  that  attachment.  That  once  secured, 
his  obstinacy  of  purpose  would  secure  the  rest. 
This  certainly  was  a  "  fault  that  leaned  to  virt- 
ue's side." 


MAP  OP  GENERAL   GRANT'S   TOUR   AROUND   THE   WORLD. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

General  Grant  Seeks  Recreation  in  Foreign  Travel— A  National 
Vessel  put  at  His  Disposal — His  Departure — Voyage — A 
Delegation  from  Cork  Meets  Him  at  Queenstown — Grand 
Eeception  at  Liverpool — A  Banquet  at  Manchester — Re- 
ception at  London — A  Week  of  Festivities — Dines  with 
the  Lord  Mayor — The  Prince  of  Wales — Invited  to  Wind- 
sor Castle — The  Freedom  of  the  City  Conferred  upon  Him 
— Visits  the  King  of  Belgium — A  Trip  up  the  Rhine — 
Visits  Wiesbaden,  Frankfort,  Hamburg,  Black  Forest — In- 
teiiachen— At  Geneva  Lays  the  Corner-stone  of  a  Church — 
Vale  of  Chainouni — A  Trip  to  Northern  Italy — Goes  to  Ed- 
inburgh— Made  Burgess  of  the  City — Tay  Bridge — Visits 
Glasgow— The  Guest  of  the  Duke  of  Sutherland — Returns 
to  England  to  Make  a  Tour  through  the  Rural  Districts — 
Addresses  Eighty  Thousand  Working  Men  at  Newcastle — 
Reception  at  Sheffield — His  Visit  to  Paris — Interviewed — 
A  Brilliant  Dinner — Sails  for  Naples — Vesuvius — Ascent 
of  —  Beggars  —  Pompeii  —  A  Compliment  —  Palermo — A 
Christmas  Dinner  —  Reception  at  Alexandria — Cairo  — 
Meets  Old  Fellow-officers — The  Pyramids — Ascent  of  the 
Nile — Reception  at  Siout — Lunch  in  the  Ruins  of  Abydos 
—Thebes— Karnack— A  Trip  in  the  Country— The  Temple 
of  Isis — End  of  the  Journey. 

THE  tremendous  strain  of  the  war  on  both 
mind  and  body,  with  the  anxieties  and  respon- 
sibilities of  eight  years  of  the  most  wearing  so- 
licitude and  perplexing  duties  and  cares  ever 
crowded  into  the  same  term  of  any  President, 
would  have  long  ago  prostrated  General  Grant, 


436 


LIFE   OF   GRANT. 


but  for  Ms  constitution  of  iron,  and.  the  total 
absence  of  that  nervous  irritability  from  which 
so  few  are  exempt.  He  could  be  aroused  to  put 
forth  a  great  effort,  but  never  became  unbal- 
anced or  nervously  excited. 

Still,  at  the  close  of  his  second  Presidential 
term,  he  felt  the  need  of  relaxation,  and  to  secure 
this,  and  at  the  same  time  gratify  a  long-cher- 
ished desire,  determined  to  visit  the  Old  World. 
He  had  well  earned  a  long  holiday,  and  when 
the  Government  was  made  acquainted  with  his 
determination,  in  consideration  of  his  high  ser- 
vices and  position,  it  placed  the  Indiana,  a  nation- 
al vessel,  at  his  disposal.  Other  Presidents  had 
visited  Europe,  but  only  as  American  citizens. 
Although  General  Grant  was  nothing  more 
than  one,  yet  being  sent  out  in  a  national  ves- 
sel it  gave  him  a  representative  character,  while 
his  fame  as  a  great  military  leader,  who  had 
brought  to  a  successful  close  one  of  the  most 
stupendous  civil  wars  the  world  had  ever  seen, 
gave  him  a  prominence  that  no  other  American 
possessed.  Hence  the  announcement  abroad  of 
his  intended  visit  caused  no  little  excitement 
among  the  European  powers.  In  England  the 
question  was  agitated  respecting  the  capacity 
in  which  he  should  be  received,  whether  as  a 
distinguished  citizen  or  as  the  head  of  a  nation. 
Lord  Beaconsfield  at  length  decided  that  he 


STARTS    ON    FOREIGN   TRAVEL.  437 

should  be  received  with  all  the  honors  of  a 
sovereign.  This  was  an  extraordinary  compli- 
ment. This  man,  who  but  a  few  years  before 
was  a  Western  tanner,  was  to  be  treated  like 
the  proud  head  of  a  royal  house. 

The  preparations  all  being  made,  he,  on  May 
17th,  embarked  on  board  the  Magenta,  and  ac- 
companied by  several  friends,  steamed  down 
the  Delaware  Bay,  thirty-four  miles  to  the  In- 
diana, which  lay  with  her  steam  up  ready  to 
sail.  Amid  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns,  the 
blowing  of  steam- whistles,  and  dipping  of  flags, 
and  deafening  cheers,  he  waved  his  adieus, 
and  the  vessel  turned  her  prow  toward  the 
ocean. 

The  passage  of  eleven  days  was  stormy,  and 
a  heavy  sea  was  running  when  the  ship  ap- 
proached Queenstown.  Yet  this  did  not  pre- 
vent a  delegation  from  Cork  boarding  the  ves- 
sel to  extend  to  him  a  warm  invitation  to  visit 
their  city,  which  he  promised  to  do  at  some 
future  time. 

As  the  vessel  entered  the  port  of  Liverpool, 
where  his  arrival  had  been  heralded,  he  saw  the 
whole  harbor  gay  with  flags  of  every  nation- 
ality.  The  Mayor  of  the  city  was  at  the  pier, 
ready  to  receive  him,  and,  as  he  stepped  ashore, 
the  air  was  rent  with  the  cheers  of  the  mighty 
multitude  assembled  to  welcome  him.  He  re- 


438  MFE  OF   GRANT. 

mained  here  but  one  day,  just  long  enough  to 
get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  city,  and  dine  with 
the  Mayor,  the  next  day  he  took  the  train  for 
Manchester.  Here  a  similar  reception  was 
given  him.  He  made  a  short  address  to  the 
mayor's  welcome.  A  banquet  was  given  him  in 
the  evening,  and  the  next  day,  after  visiting  the 
great  manufacturing  houses  of  the  place,  he 
proceeded  to  London,  where  still  greater  honors 
awaited  him.  A  round  of  festivities  was  kept 
up  here  for  a  week.  Almost  every  day  he 
dined  with  princes  and  princesses,  and  the  high- 
est nobility,  about  which  all  that  can  be  said  is, 
that  he  took  the  Duchess  of  Wellington  in  to 
dinner  to-day,  the  Princess  to-morrow ;  the  table 
always  graced  with  the  beauty  and  aristocracy 
of  London.  The  Queen  extended  to  him  and  his 
wife  invitations  to  all  court  entertainments  ;  and, 
last,  to  dine  with  her  at  Windsor  Castle.  But 
perhaps  the  greatest  honor  conferred  upon  him, 
and  attended  with  the  most  formal  display 
and  ceremony,  was  the  conferring  on  him  the 
freedom  of  the  city  of  London.  This  was  pre- 
sented in  a  gold  casket,  on  the  obverse  panel  of 
which  was  a  view  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington, 
and  on  the  right  and  left  General  Grant's  mono- 
gram and  the  arms  of  the  Lord  Mayor.  On  the 
reverse  side  was  a  view  of  Guild  Hall,  and  an 
inscription,  while  at  the  end  were  two  figures 


DINING    WITH   THE    QUEEN.  439 

in  gold,  representing  London  and  the  American 
republic.  At  the  corners  were  double  columns, 
laurel  wreathed,  with  corn  and  cotton,  and  on 
the  cover  a  cornucopia  representing  the  fertility 
of  our  country.  The  ceremonies,  which  were 
very  stately,  took  place  in  Guild  Hall,  which 
was  adorned  for  the  occasion.  Eight  hundred 
distinguished  guests  were  present  to  witness  the 
ceremony.  The  Mayor  accompanied  the  gift 
with  a  lengthy  speech,  to  which  Grant  replied 
very  briefly,  excusing  himself  on  the  ground  of 
not  being  accustomed  to  public  speaking,  and 
thanking  the  Lord  Mayor,  said,  "  For  myself  I 
have  been  very  much  surprised  at  my  reception  at 
all  places,  since  the  day  I  landed  at  Liverpool 
up  to  my  appearance  in  this,  the  greatest  city  in 
the  world.  It  was  entirely  unexpected,  and  it 
is  particularly  gratifying  to  me."  He  closed 
by  expressing  his  satisfaction  at  the  friendly 
relations  that  existed  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, and  hoped  that  all  future  difficulties, 
should  they  occur,  might  be  settled  peacefully 
by  negotiations.  A  dinner  was  afterward 
given  him  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  and  in  the 
evening  a  grand  display  of  fireworks  took 
place,  among  which  was  a  piece,  a  fac-simile  of 
the  Capitol  at  Washington.  As  the  blazing  out- 
line of  the  building  arose  in  the  heavens,  he 
turned  to  Lady  Ripon  sitting  beside  him,  and 


440 


LIFE   OP   GKANT. 


said  with  a  smile,  "  They  have  burnt  us  in  effigy, 
and  now  they  are  burning  the  Capitol." 

But  the  description  of  the  state-balls,  state- 
dinners  and  complimentary  speeches  would  be  as 
wearisome  to  the  reader  as  they  soon  became  to 
Grant,  who  determined  to  get  rid  of  them  all 
for  awhile  by  running  over  to  the  Continent, 
and  take  a  trip  up  the  Rhine,  and  across  Switzer- 
land, to  breathe  the  fresh  air  of  the  Alps.  So 
after  dining  with  the  King  of  Belgium,  at 
Brussels,  he  was  driven  in  the  royal  carriage  to 
the  station,  and  took  the  train  for  Cologne  to  see 
the  great  cathedral.  After  viewing  this  won- 
derful structure  he  took  the  steamer  up  the 
Rhine.  At  last  out  of  the  surging,  shouting 
crowd,  away  from  princely  halls  and  tiresome 
stately  ceremonies  and  wearying  receptions,  he 
once  more  breathed  free,,  and  sat  on  the  deck  of 
the  little  steamer  as  she  puffed  up  the  "  wide  and 
winding  Rhine,"  enjoying  every  moment  of  time. 
Vineyards,  castles,  and  laughing  slopes  came  and 
went  in  rapid  and  sweet  succession,  till  he 
landed  at  Mayence,  where  he  took  the  train  for 
the  famous  Weisbaden  springs,  some  twelve 
miles  distant.  Merely  stopping  here  he  went 
to  Frankfort,  Homburg,  and  through  the  Black 
Forest  made  famous  in  Napoleon's  campaigns, 
and  then  through  Lucerne  and  Berne  to  Inter- 
lachen,  the  sweetest  and  most  romantic  little 


A  TEIP   ON   THE   CONTINENT.  441 

valley  the  sun  ever  shone  upon.  Lying  at  the 
very  feet  of  the  snow-clad  Jungfrau,  it  presents 
by  its  contrast  the  most  pleasing  aspect  that 
can  be  imagined.  Here  in  this  secluded  spot, 
surrounded  with  the  sublimest  scenery,  he  en- 
joyed the  welcome  rest  that  he  so  much 
needed.  But  his  stay  was  short,  as  the  line 
of  travel  that  he  had  laid  out  was  so  extensive 
and  embraced  such  a  large  portion  of  the  civil- 
ized world  that  he  could  tarry  in  no  one  place 
long. 

On  July  26th,  he  started  for  Geneva.  In  ad 
dition  to  the  public  honors  which  here  as  else- 
where awaited  him,  he  was  asked  to  lay  the 
corner-stone  of  a  new  Episcopal  church  to  be 
built  on  a  site  given  by  an  American  citizen. 
It  was  a  quiet  gathering  of  a  few  clergymen 
and  Americans  at  the  house  from  which  the 
procession  started  for  the  place  where  the  cere- 
monies were  to  be  performed.  At  the  lunch 
afterward  Grant  expressed  himself  as  feeling 
more  happy,  and  at  home,  than  in  any  of  the 
great  ceremonial  gatherings  and  assemblies  that 
he  had  hitherto  attended. 

It  was  but  a  short  journey  from  here  to  the 
vale  of  Chamouni,  lying  at  the  foot  of  Mont 
Blanc.  Sleeping  for  one  night  only  under  its 
solemn,  majestic  shadow,  he  started  to  visit 
northern  Italy  by  the  way  of  the  Simplon  pass. 


442  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

It  was  the  month  of  August,  when  travellers 
avoid  Southern  Italy,  and  so  after  a  short  trip 
around  its  northern  lakes,  receiving  the  same 
enthusiastic  welcome  everywhere,  he  returned 
to  Switzerland.  Resting  some  days  at  the  lit- 
tle village  of  Ragatz,  to  enjoy  its  invigorating 
baths,  he  then  descended  the  Rhine  again  and 
crossed  the  Channel  to  Scotland. 

In  Edinburgh,  in  the  presence  of  two  thou- 
sand men,  he  was  presented  with  the  freedom 
of  the  city,  and  in  reply  to  an  address  by  the 
Lord  Mayor,  made  a  short  speech  in  which  he 
said :  "  I  am  so  filled  with  emotion  that  I 
scarcely  know  how  to  thank  you  for  the  honor 
conferred  on  me  by  making  me  a  burgess  of 
this  ancient  city  of  Edinburgh."  This  was  re- 
sponded to  by  three  cheers  for  the  "  youngest 
burgess."  A  few  days  passed  swiftly  here, 
marked  by  a  series  of  entertainments  winding 
up  with  a  dinner  by  the  Lord  Mayor.  After 
visiting  the  various  places  of  historic  interest  in 
the  citv,  he  went  to  see  the  great  Tay  Bridge, 
extending  two  miles  over  water,  and  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  over  land. 

On  September  13th,  he  reached  Glasgow. 
Received  with  the  same  public  demonstrations 
here,  he  was  made  also  a  burgess  of  this  city. 
After  making  a  rapid  tour  of  the  neighboring 
country,  visiting  Ayr,  the  home  of  Burns,  and 


HONORED   IN   SCOTLAND.  443 

Loch  Lomond,  he,  at  the  cordial  invitation  of 
the  Duke  of  Argyle,  whom  he  well  remembered 
to  have  been  a  stanch  friend  of  his  country 
during  the  civil  war,  made  him  a  short  visit. 
This  fact  made  the  intercourse  between  the  two 
peculiarly  frank  and  interesting. 

Grant  having  in  his  first  visit  to  England 
confined  himself  to  its  chief  cities,  now  deter- 
mined to  return  to  it  and  make  a  tour  through 
its  rural  districts  so  renowned  for  their  beauty, 
and  at  the  same  time  study  more  carefully  its 
manufacturing  interests.  The  people  of  North- 
umberland and  Durham,  hearing  of  his  intended 
visit,  assembled  on  the  town  moor  of  Newcastle 
to  the  number  of  eighty  or  a  hundred  thousand 
workingmen  to  receive  him,  and  made  the  wel- 
kin ring  with  their  hearty  British  cheers  as  he 
appeared.  At  a  banquet  given  him  by  the 
Mayor  in  the  evening,  he  said  in  reply  to  an 
address  of  the  former,  that  his  reception  in 
Newcastle  exceeded  anything  he  had  expected, 
and  had  been  the  warmest  he  had  had  or  could 
have  had.  It  was  not  merely  a  testimonial  of 
their  admiration  of  his  achievements,  but  of  the 
man  who  had  risen  from  their  own  ranks  to  his 
present  proud  position.  He  was  pre-eminently 
one  of  them,  and.  his  plain  dress,  plain  rough 
features  and  unassuming  appearance,  made  them 
feel  that  he  belonged  to  them,  and  so,  though 


444  LIFE  OF 

but  a  mere  fraction  of  the  eighty  or  hundred 
thousand  men  that  crowded  the  moor  could  hear 
him,  at  every  pause  in  his  speech  their  shouts 
went  up  like  the  roar  of  the  sea.  On  the  24th 
he  went  to  Sunderland  on  an  invitation  to  lay 
the  corner-stone  of  a  new  museum,  and  then 
proceeded  to  the  famous  manufacturing  place  of 
cutlery,  Sheffield,  where  he  was  received  by  the 
aldermen  and  councillors  dressed  in  scarlet  and 
purple  in  great  state.  In  reply  to  the  Mayor's 
address,  Grant,  in  speaking  of  the  great  reputa- 
tion of  Sheffield  cutlery,  said,  "  I  think  the  first 
penknife  I  ever  owned  away  out  in  the  western 
part  of  Ohio,  was  marked  Sheffield.  I  do  not 
know  whether  it  was  counterfeit  or  not,  but  it 
gave  the  knives  a  good  market."  On  the  27th, 
on  the  invitation  of  Rogers  &  Sons,  he  visited 
their  renowned  iron  and  steel  works,  and  wit- 
nessed the  workings  of  their  gigantic  machinery. 
The  heat  was  at  times  overpowering,  yet  Grant, 
shielding  his  face  with  his  hand,  watched  with 
intense  interest  the  making  of  an  iron  plate  des- 
tined for  a  man-of-war,  the  weight  of  the  iron 
alone,  when  put  into  the  furnace,  being  twenty- 
six  tons.  A  banquet  in  the  hall  of  the  Cutlers' 
Company  followed,  when  he  retired  to  his  Pull- 
man car  for  the  night.  , 

He  now  commenced  a  very  pleasant  tour  if 
he  could  only  have  been  let  alone.     But  the 


IN   ENGLAND    AGAIN.  445 

cities  and  large  towns  having  set  the  example 
of  a  public  reception,  with  speeches  and  ban- 
quets, the  smaller  ones  had  to  follow  their  ex- 
ample. Stratford  on  the  Avon,  Shakespeare's 
home,  to  which  he  directed  his  course,  must 
be  quietly  visited  to  be  enjoyed,  as  well  as 
Leamington  and  Kenilworth  Castle.  But  noisy 
gatherings  could  not  lessen  the  beauty  of  the 
country  in  Warwickshire,  and  Grant  and  his 
family  enjoyed  it  much,  as  well  as  the  trip 
through  the  midland  counties  of  England. 
The  rich  and  rolling  country,  the  fields  sepa- 
rated by  green  hedges,  quaint  and  ivy-covered 
old  churches,  presented  a  strange  contrast  to 
the  wide-stretching  prairies  or  rudely  fenced 
farms  of  the  West,  to  which  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed. This  trip  was  a  real  rest,  made  still 
more  so  by  a  visit  to  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Sartoris, 
living  at  Southampton.  At  its  close,  at  the 
request  of  the  Birmingham  authorities,  he,  on 
October  16th,  visited  that  place,  where  the  usual 
formal  reception  and  speeches  were  made.  From 
thence  he  returned  to  London,  but  all  the  pa- 
geants, banquets,  and  fetes  proper  in  a  recep- 
tion of  so  distinguished  a  gu^st  had  been  gone 
through  with,  and  he  was  allowed  to  lead  a 
comparatively  quiet  life,  and  to  wander  about 
at  his  own  will.  His  stay,  however,  was  short. 
On  the  24th  of  the  month  he  arrived  in  Paris, 


446  LIFE   OP   GRANT. 

having  gone  there  in  the  yacht  Victoria  by  way 
of  Boulogne.  The  day  after  his  arrival  he 
called  on  Marshal  McMahon,  then  President, 
and  was  received  by  him  and  the  Duchess  of 
Magenta  cordially.  Public  receptions,  espe- 
cially dinners,  when  the  conversation  must  be 
carried  on  by  interpreters,  are  wearisome  affairs, 
and  Grant  felt  them  to  be  so.  He  took  up  his 
abode,  with  the  American  colony,  as  the  Ameri- 
cans in  Paris  are  called,  the  head  of  which  is 
the  American  Minister.  Here  amid  his  own 
countrymen,  speaking  his  own  language,  he  felt 
at  home,  and  after  a  public  reception  he  always 
returned  to  it  with  a  sense  of  relief,  and  sat 
down  and  enjoyed  his  cigar  at  his  ease.  He 
devoted  most  of  his  time  to  visiting  the  historic 
places  in  and  around  Paris ;  and  Versailles,  St. 
Cloud,  the  Tuileries,  and  other  structures  with 
their  famous  galleries  of  art,  absorbed  a  portion 
of  almost  every  day.  Although  not  speaking 
French,  he  did  not  escape  the  interviewer.  One 
of  these  ubiquitous  individuals  obtained  access 
to  him,  and  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  pelted  him 
with  questions,  which  with  the  answers  he  pub- 
lished at  full  length  in  the  Figaro.  The  cele- 
brated American  millionaire,  Mrs.  Mackay,  re- 
siding in  Paris,  gave  him  the  most  brilliant  din- 
ner and  fete  of  all  he  attended  in  Paris,  or  any- 
where else.  The  house  in  which  it  was  given 


VISITS    PARIS. 


447 


cost  $5,000,000,  and  inside  and  out  was  a  blaze  of 
light  .and  splendor.  The  farewell  dinner  was 
given  by  a  great  banker  and  was  a  sumptu- 
ous affair. 

The  American  steamer  Vandalia,  detailed  by 
our  Government  for  Grant's  use,  having  arrived 
at  Villa  Franca  on  December  15th,  he  and 
his  family  embarked  in  it  for  the  Mediter- 
ranean. Four  days  after  they  came  in  sight  of 
the  beautiful  bay  of  Naples  with  its  vine-clad 
hills  and  smoking  Vesuvius  in  the  background. 
Unfortunately,  the  day  the  steamer  cast  an- 
chor was  one  of  those  rare  days  in  this  usu- 
ally beautiful  climate,  when  a  black  sky  and  a 
cold  wind  make  everything  look  cheerless  and 
forbidding.  Before  the  authorities  had  cogni- 
zance of  his  arrival,  he  landed  and  took  a  long 
drive  through  the  city  unmolested  by  the  crowd. 
Passing  the  night  on  board  the  ship  he  deter- 
mined to  visit  Vesuvius  next  day  in  the  same 
quiet  manner.  But  the  news  of  his  arrival 
having  spread  through  the  city,  the  next  morn- 
ing when  he  landed  he  was  met  by  officials  in 
dashing  uniforms  and  was  dragged  away  to 
undergo  all  the  formal  ceremonies  of  which  he 
had  become  so  wearied  in  England  ;  and  thus 
the  whole  forenoon  wore  away  before  he  could 
get  off  for  Vesuvius.  He  once  more  breathed 
freer  as  he  rattled  away  from  the  city.  Arriv- 


448  LIFE   OF   GRAOT. 

ing  at  the  base  of  Vesuvius,  where  they  were  to 
take  donkeys  and  horses  for  the  ascent,  Grant 
had  his  first  great  experience  with  Italian  beg- 
gars. They  gather  at  this  spot  thick  as  the  lo- 
custs of  Egypt,  and  one  is  met  with  a  clamor 
and  surrounded  with  outstretched  hands  till  he 
hardly  knows  which  way  to  turn.  Grant  in  his 
greatest  battle  was  never  so  hard  pressed,  and 
hoping  to  get  rid  of  the  Babel  crew,  he  scat- 
tered his  loose  coin  about  him  indiscriminately. 
But  he  had  not  yet  taken  his  first  lesson  in  Ital- 
ian beggars.  The  more  he  gave  the  louder  be- 
came the  clamor,  and  the  more  pressing  the  cries 
for  money.  When  he  had  emptied  his  own 
pocket,  he  borrowed  from  his  company ;  but 
he  found  the  cry  give,  give,  still  louder  than 
ever,  and  was  glad  to  mount  and  be  off  up  the 
mountain.  Although  the  view  on  the  way  up 
and  from  the  top,  taking  in  as  it  does  the  vine- 
clad  plains  and  slopes  on  the  one  side  and  the 
bay  of  Naples  and  its  blue  islands  on  the  other, 
with  the  city  sleeping  below,  is  one  of  wondrous 
beauty,  it  lacked  to-day  the  warm  and  sunny 
atmosphere  of  Italy.  A  cold  bleak  wind  swept 
the  summit,  sending  the  smoke  in  a  level  line 
away  from  the  crater ;  and  the  General  and  his 
party  were  glad  to  descend  again  into  the  plain 
and  hurry  away  to  Naples  and  aboard  ship. 
The  next  day  he  visited  Pompeii.  In  order  to 


ASCENDS   VESUVIUS.  449 

pay  a  distinguished  guest  a  compliment,  the  au- 
thorities are  accustomed  to  have  a  house  un- 
covered that  has  remained  buried  as  the  storm 
of  lava  left  it  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  so 
one  was  dug  out  for  Grant,  but  nothing  was 
found  within  but  a  few  indifferent  ornaments 
and  a  loaf  of  bread  wrapped  in  a  cloth. 

The  three  or  four  days  spent  here  were  de- 
voted chiefly  to  sight-seeing,  and  then  he  started 
for  Palermo,  where  he  arrived  two  days  before 
Christmas,  to  find  it  gay  with  preparations  for 
the  holiday.  Although  Christmas  morning  was 
ushered  in  with  the  chimes  of  a  hundred  bells, 
and  the  city  was  decked  with  flowers  and  rung 
with  merry  voices,  still  the  day  lacked  its  usual 
sunny  brightness  to  make  it  enjoyable.  Grant 
and  his  family  went  ashore  and  wandered 
through  the  gay  streets,  but  their  pleasure  was 
dimmed  by  the  frequent  showers  that  dropped 
suddenly  and  almost  unannounced  from  the 
sky.  But  this  was  made  up  by  a  family  Christ- 
mas dinner  on  board  the  ship,  a  home-dinner 
without  formality  or  restraint,  which  Grant 
enjoyed  with  a  zest  he  never  felt  in  the  gor- 
geous banquets  given  him  in  England  and 
France. 

It  was  a  flying  visit,  for  the  very  next  day 
they  steamed  out  of  port,  and  sailing  along  the 
coast  with  Stromboli  and  Etna  in  view,  two 


450  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

days  after  entered  Malta.  As  the  vessel  moored 
alongside  a  British  ironclad,  commanded  by  the 
Duke  of  Edinburgh,  a  grand  salute  was  fired, 
followed  by  a  formal  visit  from  the  Duke.  The 
vessel  remained  here  only  a  day,  which  was 
spent  in  strolling  around  the  town.  The  next 
day  they  steamed  away,  while  the  British  band 
aboard  the  English  ironclad  played  in  compli- 
ment our  national  airs.  At  Alexandria,  where 
he  was  expected,  the  Governor  accompanied  by 
the  consul  and  American  missionaries  awaited 
him  and  came  on  board  in  a  body  as  soon  as 
the  vessel  anchored.  In  the  afternoon  Grant 
returned  the  Governor's  visit,  and  was  received 
in  true  Oriental  fashion,  on  divans  suited  to  the 
rank  of  each.  A  solemn  smoking  of  cigarettes 
and  sipping  of  a  hot  drink  out  of  miniature 
porcelain  cups,  with  occasional  bits  of  conver- 
sation followed,  which  Grant  endured  with  his 
usual  phlegm,  but  was  glad  when  it  was  over  and 
he  left  free  to  go  where  he  listed.  Dining  with 
the  Vice-Consul,  he  met  there  Stanley  on  his 
way  back  to  England,  and  had  a  long  and  in- 
teresting conversation  with  him. 

Grant's  trip  around  the  world  was  to  be  so 
hurried  that  outside  of  official  receptions,  ban- 
quets, and  royal  displays,  he  had  time  to  see 
only  those  remarkable  objects  that  are  to  be 
found  in  every  guide-book,  and  are  visited  by 


ARRIVES   IN    EGYPT.  451 

every  traveller.  After  seeing  those  of  interest 
around  Alexandria,  he  left  for  Cairo  in  a  special 
train  provided  for  him.  As  it  entered  the  station 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  was  met  by 
a  military  guard,  and  in  casting  his  eye  over  it, 
he  caught  sight  of  two  old  fellow-officers  in  the 
American  army  and  now  in  the  service  of  the 
Khedive — Generals  Stone  and  Loring.  The 
latter  had  fought  him  in  the  late  civil  war,  but 
they  had  been  West  Point  cadets  together,  and 
the  meeting  was  like  that  of  old  friends,  and 
not  recent  enemies. 

After  wandering  over  the  gay  city  with  its 
Oriental  customs,  he  went  to  visit  the  great 
Pyramids,  the  largest  of  which  covers  eleven 
acres,  and  rises  five  hundred  feet  into  the  heav- 
ens. But  they  have  been  so  often  described 
that  it  is  necessary  only  to  say  that  the  party, 
like  all  travellers,  were  overwhelmed  with  these 
stupendous  structures  reared  by  rnens'  labor. 
Having  determined  to  ascend  the  !Nile  as  far  as 
the  first  cataract — the  regulation  trip  for  near- 
ly all  travellers  in  Egypt — the  Khedive  put  a 
steamer  at  his  disposal,  and,  joined  by  three  offi- 
cers of  the  ship,  he  began  his  slow,  monotonous 
journey  up  the  sacred  stream.  Mr.  Brugsch, 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  Egyptian  Muse- 
um, accompanied  them,  to  explain  to  Grant 
the  ruins  and  monuments  they  saw  on  the  way. 


452  LIFE   Off  G&AKT. 

Sometimes  listening  to  him,  and  sometimes  con. 
versing  with  his  companions,  yet  often  sitting 
silent  and  contemplative,  Grant  passed  the 
quiet  hours  as  the  boat  slowly  stemmed  the 
current. 

Siout,  the  capital  of  Upper  Egypt,  lies  some 
distance  back  from  the  shore,  so  the  party  rode 
over  to  it  on  donkeys,  and  as  they  entered  it 
were  surrounded  by  a  clamorous  crowd  of 
young  Arab  beggars  that  almost  obstructed 
their  passage.  He  was  received  in  state  by  the 
consul  residing  there,  and  after  visiting  the 
tombs  in  the  sand  beyond  the  town,  wound  up 
the  day  in  a  sumptuous  banquet,  at  which  toasts 
were  given  and  speeches  made.  After  listening 
to  a  glowing  panegyric  on  America,  closing 
with  one  on  himself,  Grant  made  a  short  reply, 
in  which  he  said  :  "  Nothing  has  so  impressed 
me  in  my  whole  trip,  as  this  unexpected  wel- 
come in  Upper  Egypt."  The  party  was  then 
escorted  back  by  torchlight  over  the  desert 
plain  to  the  boat. 

Monotonous  as  this  slow  sail  up  the  Nile 
was,  it  furnished  the  most  perfect  rest  imagina- 
ble to  General ,  Grant.  Sitting  on  deck,  shaded 
by  the  light  awning  above  from  the  fervid  heat, 
and  long  into  the  moonlight  night  quietly 
smoking  his  cigar,  now  talking  to  his  compan- 
ions of  their  far-off  native  land,  and  now  listen- 


A  TRIP  THROUGH   EGYPT.  453 

ing  dreamily  to  the  low  ripple  of  the  water  by 
liis  side,  drinking  in  the  pure  atmosphere  the 
while,  he  felt  it  a  luxury  merely  to  live. 
Although  it  was  the  middle  of  January,  the 
weather  was  summer-like  and  balmy  ;  the  days 
bright  and  sunny,  and  the  nights  gorgeous  from 
the  transparent  atmosphere. 

Tying  up  at  Gregel,  he  met  there  Admiral 
Stead  man  with  a  friend,  on  their  return  trip, 
fast  aground,  and  a  pleasant  talk  of  home  and 
friends  followed.  But  with  the  rising  river 
they  were  off,  and  Grant  and  his  party  started 
for  Abydos,  the  "fountain-head  of  all  civiliza- 
tion," built  long  before  Abraham  pitched  his 
tent  on  the  Chaldean  hills.  Grant  was  on 
horseback,  and  the  rest  on  donkeys,  while  two 
camels  accompanied  them,  loaded  down  with 
the  necessary  materials  for  a  lunch  amid  the 
ruins.  The  way  led  over  rocky  mounds  and 
desert  stretches,  heated  by  a  burning  sun, 
which,  with  the  yells  of  the  donkey-drivers, 
and  the  crack  of  their  sticks  on  the  poor  ani- 
mals' backs,  made  it  a  wearisome,  disagreeable 
journey.  Having  reached  the  temple  at  last, 
Grant  was  regaled  with  a  long,,  learned  disser- 
tation by  Brugsch,  on  the  antiquity  and  grand- 
eur of  this  city  built  more  than  two  thousand 
years  before  Christ. 

After  wandering  over  the  crumbling  ruins 


454  I,IFF,    OF 

till  heated  and  exhausted  with  the  exertion. 
they  were  glad  to  sit  down  in  their  cool  shade 
to  what  was  vastly  more  agreeable,  a  good 
lunch.  Having  disposed  of  this,  the  gentlemen 
lighted  their  cigars,  and  then  began  their  slow 
journey  back  to  the  Nile. 

The  next  morning  they  untied  from  the  bank, 
and  steamed  on  to  the  ancient  city  of  Thebes, 
said  to  have  once  had  a  hundred  gates  and 
three  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  and  in 
which  stood  the  temple  and  colossal  statue  of 
Memnon.  Once  the  glory  of  the  world,  its 
ruins  are  now  the  grandest  on  the  globe.  Amid 
them  and  those  of  Karnack,  Grant  wandered 
with  amazement.  Together  they  form  the 
great  wonders  of  Egypt,  and  are  worth  the 
long  journey  up  the  Nile  to  see.  A  whole 
book  could  be  written  upon  them,  but  Grant 
had  time  only  for  a  mere  glance  at  them,  and 
then  started  again  up  the  Nile  toward  the  first 
cataract,  which  was  to  be  the  end  of  his 
journey. 

Tying  up  to  the  shore  opposite  Keneh,  they 
rode  over  to  it,  about  a  mile  distant.  This 
little  side- trip  was  chiefly  remarkable  for  the 
insight  it  gave  Grant  of  the  daily  life  of  this 
primitive  people,  something  he  had  not  been 
able  to  get  before.  It  was  just  as  it  is  de- 
cribed  in  the  Bible;  the  same  utensils,  cos- 


VISITS   EGYPTIAN   CITIES.  465 

t umes,  and  occupation  of  men  and  women  ;  in 
fact,  one  could  feel  himself  almost  transported 
into  that  far-off  past. 

He  was  interrupted  in  this  stroll,  much  to 
his  vexation,  by  a  message  from  the  Pacha,  who 
must  ape  the  European  monarchs  by  giving 
him  a  formal  reception. 

After  a  visit  to  the  German  consul,  and  an- 
other stroll  through  the  town,  in  which  the 
Pacha  accompanied  him,  he  mounted  one  of  the 
Pacha's  donkeys,  and  with  his  friends  rode  back 
through  a  storm  of  sand  to  the  river.  Resum- 
ing their  slow  journey  upward,  with  scarcely 
anything  to  vary  the  monotony  but  the  ever- 
changing,  gorgeous  tints  of  the  heavens,  they  at 
last  reached  their  final  goal — Asswan,  the  fron- 
tier station  of  Egypt,  and  the  boundary  of 
Nubia,  containing  some  four  thousand  inhab- 
itants. The  Governor,  though  a  negro,  was 
dressed  in  the  latest  Parisian  fashion,  and  re-* 
ceived  him  with  all  the  formality  of  the  Khe- 
dive himself. 

The  next  day  he  received  a  letter  from  Gor- 
don, the  hero  of  Khartoum,  who  then  held  the 
territory  in  the  name  of  the  Khedive,  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  importation 
of  slaves.  Here,  to  Grant's  delight,  his  mis- 
erable donkey  was  exchanged  for  a  superb 
Arabian  steed,  and  he  felt  a  new  life  in  hiui  as 


456  LIFE   OF   GfiAtfT. 

he  vaulted  to  the  saddle  of  the  spirited  animal. 
The  island  of  Philse,  with  its  famed  Temple  of 
Isis  and  ancient  ruins,  was  visited,  and  then 
the  party  once  more  turned  the  prow  of  their 
boat  down  the  river,  which  bore  them  rapidly 
forward  to  Cairo,  Grant  regretting  that  his  visit 
had  been  so  hurried.  After  a  call  on  the  Khe- 
dive, he  went  on  to  Alexandria  and  joined  the 
Vandal  ia. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Off  for  Jerusalem — r*ffa — A  Miserable  Journey — Jerusalem— 
An  Unwelcome  Deception — The  Sacred  Places — The  Olive 
Tree  of  Gethsemane  —  Nazareth  —  Damascus  — Constanti- 
nople— Presented  with  two  Arabian  Steeds — Greece — Re- 
ception by  the  King — Illumination  of  the  Parthenon — 
Marathon  and  Thermopylae — Borne — The  Coliseum — Au- 
dience of  the  King  and  Pope — Visits  the  Paris  Exhibition 
— The  Hague — Eotterclam  and  Amsterdam — Berlin — Bis- 
marck— A  Pleasant  Conversation — Eeview  of  the  Army — 
A  Dismal  Performance — Friendship  Cemented  between 
Bismarck  and  Grant — Hamburg — Excursion  on  the  Elbe 
— A  Fourth  of  July  Dinner — Copenhagen — Gothenburg — 
Christiania — A  Pleasing  Compliment — Queer  Mode  of 
Travelling — Reception  at  St.  Petersburg — Interview  with 
the  Emperor — Interview  with  Prince  Gortschakoff — Sa- 
luted by  the  Russian  Fleet — How  to  Build  a  Railroad — 
Moscow  —  Vienna  —  Munich  — Ulm  —  Through  France  to 
Bordeaux — Its  Wine-cellars — Visits  Spain — Received  by 
the  King  as  Captain-General — Interview  with  Castelar — A 
Private  Interview  with  the  King — Madrid — The  Escurial — 
Attempt  to  Assassinate  the  King — Portugal — Interview 
with  the  King — Cintra— Cordova — Seville— The  Chapel 
•where  Ferdinand  and  Queen  Isabella  Received  Columbus 
— Tobacco  Factory — Promenades — Cadiz,  and  Reception 
at  Gibraltar— Pleasant  Intercourse  with  Lord  Napier — 
Stopping  at  Pau  on  His  "Way  Back  to  England— Grant's 
Reply  to  a  Toast  Given  Him  at  a  Public  Dinner— Return 
to  Southampton — Makes  a  Flying  Trip  by  Himself  to  Ire- 
land— Reception  at  Dublin — Insulted  by  Cork — Enthusi- 
astic Reception  at  Derry — The  Luncheon — Return  to 
England. 

INSTEAD  of  keeping  on  to  India  at  once,  Grant 
determined   to  visit   Jerusalem  and  retum  to 


458  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

Europe  before  he  did  so.  Landing  in  the  miser- 
able port  of  Jaffa,  the  party  was  compelled  to 
scramble  up  a  bank  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
high,  and  make  their  way  through  the  dirtiest 
street  in  the  world,  filled  with  dirtier  Arabs, 
to  the  office  of  the  Vice-Consul.  Snatching  time 
enough  to  seek  out  the  house  of  "  Simon  the 
tanner,"  made  immortal  by  Peter,  he,  with 
his  party  and  some  officers  of  the  Vandal ia, 
mounted  into  miserable,  rickety  wagons,  and  at 
four  o'clock  took  up  their  slow  journey  for 
Jerusalem.  Keaching  the  miserable  town  of 
Ramleh  at  sunset,  they  were  all  huddled  into 
one  room,  which  served  for  parlor,  kitchen,  and 
dining-room — they  eating  in  one  corner,  the 
servants  in  another,  while  the  cook  fried  eggs 
in  a  third.  The  whole  party  slept  in  one  room, 
those  in  bed  who  dared  to,  and  the  others  on 
benches  as  they  could.  Grant  was  up  with  the 
dawn,  and  rousing  the  others  they  snatched  a 
hasty  breakfast,  and  by  six  o'clock  were  rum- 
bling along  again  in  their  clumsy  wagons  to- 
ward Jerusalem.  Grant  had  been  able  to  find 
a  horse,  greatly  to  his  relief,  and  rode  beside  the 
wagons.  The  rain  came  steadily  down,  yet  he 
he  declined  an  umbrella,  declaring  it  was  only 
a  sprinkle,  and  pushed  on  toward  the  city  only 
twenty  miles  distant.  The  road  was  rough  and 
rocky,  over  which  the  wagons  thumped  along 


IN  JERUSALEM:.  459 

at  a  snail's  pace,  so  that  it  was  well  on  in  the 
afternoon  before  the  last  height  was  reached 
that  had  hid  Jerusalem  from  view.  As  Grant 
sat  on  his  horse,  on  the  summit,  gazing  down  on 
the  holy  city  in  grave  silence  and  solemn  awe, 
his  face  suddenly  darkened ;  for  a  horseman 
galloped  up  to  him  to  inform  him  that  a  public 
reception  awaited  him  at  the  gates.  To  enter 
the  holy  city  with  the  blare  of  trumpets,  and 
amid  all  the  barbaric  display  and  noise  of  a 
parade,  vexed  him  sorely.  He  would  far  rather 
have  entered  it  alone  on  foot  with  uncovered 
head.  But  that  was  not  all ;  he  had  to  sub- 
mit to  the  complimentary  speeches  of  the  vari- 
ous consuls,  and  receive  the  blessings  of  bishops 
and  patriarchs. 

The  Pacha  offered  him  a  band  of  music  of 
fifty  pieces,  to  accompany  him  in  all  his  ram- 
bles through  the  holy  city  during  the  three  days 
he  intended  to  remain.  But  the  thought  of 
a  band  of  music  accompanying  him  to  Geth- 
semane,  Olivet,  and  Calvary  was  too  much  even 
for  one  good-natured  as  he ;  yet,  unwilling  to 
offend  the  Pacha,  he  compromised  by  saying 
he  would  be  glad  of  their  attendance  for  an 
hour  at  evening.  The  next  morning  he  with 
his  party  commenced  their  stroll,  taking  the 
sad  way  trod  by  the  Saviour  out  from  the  city 
to  Calvary.  Much  of  the  solemnity  of  the 


460  LIFE   OF    GTCANT. 

scene  was  marred  by  the  crowd  of  clamorous 
beggars  that  followed,  and  the  apocryphal  spots 
pointed  oat  by  his  flippant  guide,  yet  he  could 
not  escape  the  feelings  of  reverence  which  the 
place  inspired.  When  shown  the  olive  tree  in 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  under  which  our 
Lord  knelt  in  agony,  he  said  he  could  easily 
believe  it  was  the  same,  for  he  had  seen  trees 
in  California  that  might  well  be  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  old,  and  having  very  much  the  same 
appearance.  Passing  beyond  these  sacred  spots, 
he  kept  on  to  Bethany,  the  home  of  Martha  and 
Mary  and  Lazarus.  Here  there  was  nothing 
apocryphal — the  hills  and  fields  looked  just  as 
they  did  when  Christ  gazed  on  them,  and  the 
thought  awakened  strange  emotions  in  his  heart. 
Having  seen  all  the  spots  made  sacred  by  the 
feet  of  the  Son  of  Man,  he  visited  the  secluded 
village  of  Nazareth,  where  Jesus  was  born,  and 
then  started  for  Damascus,  going  by  the  road 
Saul  travelled  when  he  heard  a  voice  from 
heaven  and  fell  to  the  earth.  From  the  heights 
that  overlook  the  city  and  the  rich  plain  that 
surrounds  it,  Grant  beheld  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful landscapes  on  earth.  But  when  the  party 
descended  into  it  all  this  beauty  departed.  It 
is  a  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  Jerusalem, 
and  remains  to  this  day  just  as  it  was  in  the  time 
of  Paul — the  same  people,  the  same  customs, 


DAMASCAS,    BEYROOT,    CONSTANTINOPLE. 

dress,  and  habits  of  living.  Notwithstanding  it 
was  so  far  away  from  the  outside  world,  Grant's 
fame  had  reached  even  there,  and  Arab  chief- 
tains came  from  a  long  distance  to  see  the  "  great 


warrior." 


Making  but  a  short  stay,  he  returned  to  Bey- 
root,  and,  going  on  board  the  Vandalia,  sailed 
for  the  Bosphorus,  entering  Stambool  on  March 
5th.  The  peculiar  condition  of  affairs  at  Con- 
stantinople at  this  time,  resulting  from  the  war 
with  Russia,  prevented  the  Sultan  from  receiv- 
ing General  Grant  with  that  ceremony  and  mili- 
tary display  which  he  would  otherwise  have 
done — greatly  to  the  latter's  relief.  He  was 
much  pleased  with  the  visit  he  received  from 
the  British  Minister  Layard,  the  Nineveh  ex- 
plorer. There  is  not  much  to  be  seen  in  Con- 
stantinople, except  the  Mosque  of  St.  Sophia, 
and,  March  being  the  most  disagreeable  month 
of  the  year,  the  party  was  not  sorry  to  be  off 
for  the  more  attractive  land  of  Greece.  Previ- 
ous to  his  departure,  however,  the  Sultan  showed 
him  the  imperial  stalls,  and  out  of  the  five  hun- 
dred and  seventy  horses  that  occupied  them  a 
superb  Arabian  steed  was  selected  for  General 
Grant,  to  which  a  second  one  was  subsequently 
added,  and  both  despatched  by  our  legation  to 
America,  where  they  safely  arrived. 

Arriving  at  Athens,  he  was  received  by  our 


462  LIFE    OF 

Minister  and  presented  to  the  King.  He  was  com- 
pelled, for  want  of  time,  to  decline  most  of  the 
invitations  to  dinners,  etc.,  but  attended  a  grand 
reception  given  him  by  the  King  and  Queen,  the 
most  attractive  feature  of  which  was  the  beauti- 
ful Grecian  women  that  graced  it.  Of  course 
he  visited  the  renowned  temples  and  localities 
of  Athens  and  its  vicinity — the  Acropolis,  the 
ruins  of  Jupiter  Olympus,  the  Parthenon,  and 
other  buildings  hallowed  by  great  names  and 
showing  the  art  and  culture  of  ancient  Greece, 
once  the  centre  of  civilization  and  learning.  The 
distinguishing  event  of  this  visit,  however,  was 
the  illumination  of  the  Parthenon  in  his  honor. 
With  a  large  escort  he  rode  up  the  slopes  of  the 
Acropolis  on  the  evening  it  was  to  take  place, 
and,  taking  a  position  from  which  the  greatest 
effect  could  be  obtained,  he  sat  for  awhile  in  the 
gathering  gloom,  and  let  the  shadow  of  the 
mighty  past  fall  on  his  spirit  while  the  ruins  of 
the  magnificent  temple,  two  hundred  and  seven- 
teen feet  long,  surrounded  by  magnificent  col- 
umns, rose  before  him.  Where  once  gathered 
the  pomp  and  glory  of  the  world,  all  was  now 
dark,  silent,  and  deserted,  and  yet  still  in  the 
busy  memory  the  mighty  dead  passed  by  in 
slow  procession,  awakening  strange  thoughts 
and  feelings.  While  he  was  thus  musing,  sud- 
denly a  thousand  Bengal  fires  burst  out  from 


VISITS    GREECE   AND    ITALY.  463 

within  and  without  the  magnificent  ruin,  till  it 
stood  a  temple  of 'light  in  the  surrounding  dark- 
ness, with  its  splendid  proportions,  rich  col- 
umns, long  colonnades,  and  architectural  beauty 
perfectly  outlined  against  the  sky — flaming  and 
quivering  before  him.  It  was  a  wonderful  spec- 
tacle, and  a  great  compliment  from  the  king  to 
his  guest,  but  its  effect  was  greatly  marred  by 
the  frivolous  Greeks,  who  turned  it  into  a  mere 
exhibition  of  fireworks.  The  next  day  he  rode 
out  to  Marathon  and  Thermopylae,  where  free- 
dom-battles were  fought  centuries  ago. 

General  Grant  having  seen  the  renowned 
sights  of  Athens,  bade  Greece  farewell,  and 
sailed  for  Rome.  One  of  his  first  visits  on  his 
arrival  was  to  the  Coliseum,  where  the  great 
gladiatorial  exhibitions  took  place  for  the 
amusement  of  the  people,  and  in  the  arena  of 
which  many  a  noble  warrior  and  hosts  of  Chris- 
tian men  and  women  have  been  "  butchered  to 
make  a  Roman  holiday." 

King  Humbert  gave  him  a  magnificent  dinner, 
and  the  Pope  honored  him  with  a  special  audi- 
ence. His  stay  here,  however,  was  so  short  that 
he  got  but  little  insight  into  the  habits  and 
character  of  the  people.  Crossing  the  country 
in  the  beautiful  spring-time  to  Florence,  he 
stayed  there  only  long  enough  to  visit  its  princi- 
pal galleries  of  art  He,  however,  received  the 


464  LIFE   OF    GRANT. 

attentions  that  Lad  been  everywhere  extended 
to  him. 

Taking  a  run  down  to  Pisa  to  see  the  leaning 
tower,  the  famous  baptistery,  and  Campo  Santo, 
he  left  for  Venice,  greeted  with  the  cheers  of 
the  assembled  multitude  as  the  train  slowly 
pulled  out  of  the  station.  Crossing  the  Venice 
bridge  that  connects  the  city  with  the  main- 
land, he  was  received  with  great  ceremony  by 
the  authorities.  Relieved  of  these  senseless 
formalities,  he  drove  to  his  hotel,  and  spent  the 
evening  gazing  out  upon  the  water,  gay  with 
gliding  boats,  out  of  which  rose  a  ceaseless  stream 
of  mirth  and  laughter.  There  was  but  little  to 
see  here,  except  St.  Mark's  Cathedral,  and  he 
left  for  Milan,  where  the  usual  formal  cere- 
monies had  to  be  gone  through  on  his  arrival. 

There  was  nothing  here  to  detain  him  but 
its  great  cathedral,  renowned  the  world  over  for 
its  artistic  beauty  and  grandeur,  and  he  sped 
over  the  Alps  to  be  present  at  the  opening  of 
the  great  Paris  Exposition.  Painting  and  statu- 
ary and  classic  ruins  were  to  give  way  to  the 
common  productions  of  modern  invention  and 
labor.  Reaching  there  on  the  7th,  he  was 
waited  on  by  Mr.  McCormick,  the  American 
Commissioner,  and  asked  to  fix  a  day  when  he 
would  visit  the  Exposition.  Naming  Satur- 
day, he,  with  a  great  number  of  Americans, 


PASSES    OVER  THE    CONTINENT.  465 

made  the  tour  of  the  various  departments. 
Declining  all  invitations,  he,  having  seen  the 
exhibition,  the  sole  object  of  his  visit  to  Paris, 
hurried  on  to  Holland  on  his  way  to  the 
Hague.  Stopping  here  only  long  enough  to  pay 
a  visit  of  ceremony  to  the  court,  he  passed  on 
to  Rotterdam,  and  finally  to  Amsterdam.  He 
lingered  a  fortnight  on  this  route,  delaying  his 
journey  somewhat  on  account  of  the  excitement 
at  Berlin — his  destined  point — caused  by  the 
attempt  to  assassinate  the  Emperor  of  Germany. 
But  everything  having  quieted  down,  he  re- 
sumed his  journey,  reaching  there  on  June  26th. 
Our  Minister  at  the  court,  Bayard  Taylor,  came 
out  sixty  miles  to  meet  him  and  escort  him  to 
the  city.  Here,  as  everywhere  that  he  was  al- 
lowed to  do  so,  he  took  a  quiet  stroll  through 
the  city  in  the  evening,  like  any  other  traveller, 
in  order  to  see  the  people  in  their  ordinary  ap- 
pearance. This  he  kept  up  during  his  stay 
when  he  could,  and  enjoyed  it  more  than  the 
fetes  that  were  showered  upon  him. 

Among  the  first  callers  on  him  was  Prince 
Bismarck,  but  not  finding  him  in  he  left  his  card. 
General  Grant  immediately  sent  a  note  inquir- 
ing when  it  would  be  convenient  for  the  Prince 
to  receive  him,  and  he  would  return  his  call. 
The  latter  appointed  that  afternoon  at  four 
o'clock.  The  sentinel  on  duty,  when  he  saw  a 

30 


466  tlttE   OF   GRAOT. 

plainly  dressed  man,  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth, 
walking  across  the  court-yard  of  the  palace, 
was  filled  with  astonishment.  The  General, 
having  answered  his  salute,  threw  away  the 
stump  of  his  cigar,  and  advanced  to  the  door 
of  the  palace,  and  was  ushered  by  servants  into 
the  spacious  hall  where  Bismarck  was  awaiting 
him.  As  the  latter  caught  sight  of  Grant,  he, 
with  both  hands  extended,  advanced  in  the  most 
frank  and  cordial  manner  to  meet  him.  A  long 
and  familiar  conversation  followed  on  various 
topics.  Bismarck  expressed  his  regret  that  his 
attendance  on  the  European  Congress,  then  in 
session  on  the  Turkish  question,  would  prevent 
him  from  showing  him  around  Berlin,  and  also 
that  the  state  of  the  Emperor's  health  would 
prevent  his  receiving  him. 

It  was  a  picture  well  worth  seeing,  this  fore- 
most soldier  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  and  the 
greatest  diplomatist  of  Europe,  and,  in  fact,  Em- 
peror of  Germany,  sitting  side  by  side  and  talk- 
ing in  this  chatty  manner  like  old  acquaintances. 
On  leaving,  the  Prince  invited  him  to  a  grand 
military  review.  Grant,  in  accepting  the  invi- 
tation, very  naively  remarked,  that  he  took  very 
little  interest  in  military  affairs,  saying,  "  I  am 
more  of  a  farmer  than  soldier,  and,  although  I 
entered  the  army  at  thirty-five,  and  hav^e  been 
in  two  wars,  I  never  went  into  the  army  with- 


INTERVIEW   WITH   BISMAECK.  46? 

out  regret,  and  never  retired  without  pleasure." 
Strange  sentiments  for  the  most  renowned  sol- 
dier of  modern  times  to  utter  to  a  man  so  ab- 
sorbed in  the  army  as  Bismarck  has  always  been. 
But  it  was  the  natural,  spontaneous  utterance  of 
his  feelings,  and  shows  how  small  a  place  military 
ambition  had  in  his  heart,  and  how  lightly  he 
esteemed  the  glamour  that  surrounds  a  success- 
ful general.  Bismarck's  reply  was  doubtless 
sincere  :  "  You  are  so  happily  placed  in  Amer- 
ica that  you  need  fear  no  wars.  What  has 
always  seemed  so  sad  to  me  about  your  last 
great  war  was  that  you  were  fighting  your  own 
people.  That  is  always  so  terrible  in  wars — 
so  very  hard."  "  Yes,"  replied  General  Grant, 
"  but  it  had  to  be  done." 

The  latter  was  more  pleased  with  this  familiar, 
unrestrained  interview  than  with  any  that  he 
had  held  with  the  great  representative  men  of 
Europe.  A  dinner  at  the  American  Minister's 
followed,  with  the  usual  gathering  of  distin- 
guished men,  and  toasts,  speeches,  and  compli- 
ments. 

The  morning  of  the  great  review  of  the  Ger- 
man Army  dawned  cold  and  gloomy,  with  a 
steady  down-pour  of  rain.  It  was  to  commence 
at  the  early  hour  of  half  past  seven.  Grant  had 
awakened  with  a  severe  cold,  and  so  hoarse  that 
he  could  hardly  speak.  His  friends,  therefore, 


468  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

endeavored  to  dissuade  him  from  going,  on  ao 
count  of  the  great  exposure  he  would  suffer.  But 
he  would  not  hear  of  it — the  troops  were  already 
in  motion,  and  he  drove  at  once  to  the  palace, 
where  he  was  met  by  the  commander  of  the 
Berlin  troops  and  an  imposing  staff.  A  splen- 
did horse  was  ready  awaiting  him,  but  he  was 
so  cold  and  suffering,  that  he  reluctantly  de- 
clined to  mount  him  in  such  a  pouring  rain, 
and  drove  in  his  carriage  to  the  field.  But  he 
could  not  have  got  much  wetter  if  he  had  been 
in  the  saddle,  for  the  pouring  rain,  driven  by 
the  fierce  wind,  penetrated  the  carriage,  thor- 
oughly drenching  him.  It  was  a  brilliant  mili- 
tary display,  or  would  have  been  on  a  bright 
day.  The  successive  bands  filled  the  air  with 
martial  strains,  and  the  steady  columns  moved 
like  clock-work  over  the  field — cavalry,  artil- 
lery, and  infantry  performing  their  evolutions 
with  an  accuracy  that  showed  the  perfection 
of  military  discipline ;  but  the  drooping  necks 
of  the  horses  in  the  lashing  rain,  the  draggled 
plumes  of  the  officers,  and  wet  banners  hanging 
along  their  staffs,  the  soaked  and  half -flooded 
ground  beneath,  and  a  gloomy  sky  above,  while 
a  cold,  chilly  wind  whistled  by,  combined  to 
make  it  a  dismal  performance,  and  all  wished 
it  well  over.  The  enthusiastic  Germans,  heed- 
less of  the  weather,  were  assembled  in  great 


WITNESSES    A    GRAND    MILITARY   REVIEW.    460 

numbers,  and  shouted  and  cheered  till  they 
were  hoarse.  As  the  whole  programme  must 
be  carried  out,  a  grand  review  of  the  army 
by  General  Grant  had  to  follow  this  general 
review  and  parade,  and  he  was  compelled  to 
stand,  with  uncovered  head  in  the  pitiless  rain, 
while  the  drenched  and  dripping  army  slowly 
defiled  before  him.  Although  he  highly  com- 
plimented the  officers  on  the  perfection  of  mili- 
tary discipline  which  the  army  exhibited,  he 
would  have  cheerfully  exchanged  all  this  show 
and  pomp  for  a  quiet  cigar  in  his  own  room. 
A  lunch  at  Prince  Hohenzollern's  followed, 
where  the  usual  toasts  and  speeches  were  made. 
In  the  afternoon  Bismarck  called  on  Grant  at 
his  hotel,  and  the  latter  presented  him  to  Mrs. 
Grant.  After  a  short  conversation,  the  prince 
invited  them  to  dine  with  him  the  next  day, 
and  took  his  leave. 

The  dinner-party  was,  of  course,  composed  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  city,  and  af- 
ter it  was  over,  and  the  guests  had  retired  to 
an  antechamber,  Grant  and  Bismarck  went  to  a 
deep  window  overlooking  a  handsome  park; 
and  the  one  lighting  his  cigar  and  the  other  his 
pipe,  they  sat  down  to  a  familiar  talk,  chiefly 
about  the  two  countries,  their  resources,  etc. 
The  two  presented  a  striking  contrast,  in  their 
manner.  That  of  Bismarck  was  earnest,  some* 


470  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

times  enthusiastic,  his  statements  often  illus« 
trated  with  a  humorous  story,  at  which  he 
himself  would  laugh  aloud ;  while  Grant  was 
more  like  the  historic  Dutchman,  phlegmatic, 
almost  stolid,  and  although  seeing  and  appre- 
ciating Bismarck's  humor,  never  acknowledging 
it  beyond  a  slight  smile.  The  conversation 
was  easy  and  pleasant,  for  the  German  Chan- 
cellor spoke  English  with  great  fluency,  and  no 
interpreter  was  needed,  as  at  the  lunch  the  day 
before  with  Prince  Hohenzollern,  which  made 
it  extremely  formal  and  stupid. 

The  American  Minister,  remembering  an  old 
German  custom  of  cementing  friendship  with 
a  glass  of  schnapps,  had  a  bottle  of  gin  opened, 
and  offered  a  glass  to  each.  Bismarck  thanked 
the  Minister  for  the  suggestion,  and  with  a 
smile  touched  his  glass  to  that  of  Grant,  and 
the  friendship  was  cemented. 

The  American  residents  planned  a  great  cele- 
bration for  Grant  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  which 
was  close  at  hand.  But  he  was  tired  of  public 
displays,  and  so  on  the  2d  he  started  for  the  old 
city  of  Hamburg,  a  hundred  and  seventy  miles 
distant.  This  commercial  burgh,  with  its  onini- 

O       7 

buses,  and  hacks,  and  crowds  of  trucks,  seemed 
like  an  American  city  as  he  entered  it.  To  his 
relief,  he  met  here  no  civic  displays  or  formal 
reception,  but  was  allowed  to  drive  quietly  to 


FOURTH    OF   JULY    AT   HAMBURG*.  471 

the  Vice-Con sul's  house  like  any  other  trav- 
eller, where  he  dined.  At  evening,  lighting 
his  cigar,  he  took  one  of  his  favorite  strolls 
through  the  city,  with  its  irregular,  but  clean 
streets. 

Though  Hamburg  belongs  to  the  German 
Empire,  yet,  having  been  one  of  the  free  cities  of 
the  old  Hanseatic  Confederation,  it  was  allowed 
to  retain  its  old  form  of  government,  consisting 
of  four  burgomasters  and  twenty-four  council- 
lors, who  carried  on  the  municipal  government 
in  the  old  dignified  way.  In  the  morning  a 
deputation  from  the  Senate  waited  upon  the 
General,  and  invited  him  on  board  a  small 
steamer  to  visit  the  various  docks  and  basins 
of  the  city,  and  take  a  short  pleasure-trip  up 
and  down  the  Elbe.  This  was  a  very  sensible 
attention  to  him,  and  he  accepted  it  with 
pleasure.  A  heavy  rain,  however,  setting  in, 
marred  very  much  what  would  otherwise  have 
been  a  delightful  excursion.  The  next  day  be- 
ing the  Fourth  of  July,  a  German  band  was 
sent  to  serenade  him  in  the  morning  with  our 
national  airs.  He  then  drove  out  to  the  coun- 
try residence  of  the  Vice-Consul,  and  spent  the 
morning  in  strolling  through  the  woods,  smoking 
in  quietness  his  cigar,  and  talking  familiarly 
with  his  friends.  About  thirty  guests  were  as- 
sembled at  the  dinner-table.  The  Consul,  in  giv- 


472  LIFE   OF    GRANT. 

ing  the  toast  to  his  distinguished  guest,  spoke  of 
him  as  having  "  saved  his  country."  The  latter, 
in  reply,  did  not  agree  with  him  in  saying  that 
he  had  saved  the  country. 

"If  onr  country,"  he  said,  "could  be  saved  or 
ruined  by  any  one  man,  we  should  not  have  a 
country  at  all.  What  saved  the  country  was 
the  coming  forward  of  the  young  men  of  the 
nation.  They  gave  up  everything  for  their  coun- 
try." It  was  thus  he  said  the  country  was 
saved,  not  by  any  one  leader,  but  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  people.  The  next  day,  after  a  din- 
ner given  him  by  Baron  von  Ohlendorf,  he  was 
driven  out  of  the  city  to  see  the  races,  but  a 
heavy  rain  having  set  in  he  did  not  remain  long. 
The  following  day  he  started  for  Copenhagen, 
the  capital  of  the  smallest  kingdom  in  Europe. 
There  was  not  much  to  see  here,  except  the  mu- 
seum, in  which  are  gathered  three  hundred  of 
Thorwaldsen's  works,  the  pride  and  glory  of 
the  city,  and  he  kept  on  to  Gothenburg,  where 
he  had  n^  intention  of  stopping,  but  the  re- 
ception of  the  people  was  so  enthusiastic  that 
he  stayed  over  till  next  day  to  receive  the  hon- 
ors that  had  been  prepared  for  him.  The  next 
morning  he  departed  for  Christiania,  the  capi- 
tal of  Norway.  Here  one  of  the  most  pleasing 
episodes  in  his  travels  occurred.  The  peasants 
on  the  route  had  heard  of  his  coming,  and  had 


IN   SWEDEN,  NORWAY,  AND    DENMAKK.       473 

decorated  their  rural  homes  in  his  honor,  a  com- 
pliment as  simple  as  it  was  touching. 

Christiania  was  designed  to  be  a  mere  stop- 
ping-place, at  which  he  and  his  party  were  to 
arrange  a  trip  to  Lapland,  where  there  were  no 
railroads,  no  public  conveyances,  nor  stage- 
coaches in  the  country;  hence  the  journey  was 
to  be  an  entirely  new  experience.  Only  two 
modes  of  travelling  were  provided.  One  was 
by  a  vehicle  resembling  an  American  sulky — 
the  one  seat  it  contained  being  sunk  down  be- 
tween the  wheels,  with  a  little  frame  behind  at- 
tached to  the  axle-tree — just  big  enough  to  hold 
a  good-sized  hand-trunk,  on  which  the  boy  hav- 
ing charge  of  the  pony,  and  passenger,  etc.,  can 
sit.  The  other  conveyance  was  something  like 
an  English  seat-cart,  holding  several  persons. 
Each  of  the  party  choosing  his  own  mode  of 
travelling,  they  all  set  out  in  high  spirits.  No 
more  royal  equipages,  or  grand  banquets,  or 
stately  receptions,  with  formal  speeches  and 
noisy  bands.  The  trip  was  to  be  more  like  a 
wild  frolic  than  the  stately  journey  of  great 
officials.  Grant,  choosing  the  low  sulky,  and 
driving  his  diminutive  pony  himself,  with  the 
diminutive  boy  having  charge  of  him  perched 
behind,  was  a  comical  spectacle.  Over  the  rough 
roads  of  Norway,  and  up  and  down  its  steep 
hills,  he  rattled  away  at  the  headlong  speed  of 


474  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

about  five  miles  an  hour.  Past  farm-houses 
nestling  amid  the  hills,  past  fields  in  which  men 
and  Avomen  were  alike  at  work,  now  and  then 
from  some  height  getting  a  glimpse  of  the  North 
Sea  glittering  in  the  distance;  stopping  now 
to  get  fresh  strawberries  from  the  peasant  chil- 
dren, and  now  to  enjoy  some  wild,  enchanting 
view,  they  hurried  on  like  children  let  loose 
from  school. 

The  excitement  of  this  free,  unrestrained,  un- 
conventional life,  and  the  exhilarating  air  and 
unclouded  heavens  of  this  high  region  elevated 
the  spirits  of  all  to  the  highest  pitch.  General 
Grant,  wearied  out  with  royal  ceremonies,  and 
official  banquets,  and  monotonous,  flattering  ad- 
dresses, enjoyed  this  freedom  of  action  and  in- 
tercourse with  nature  keenly;  but,  unlike  the 
others,  he  gave  no  outward  sign  of  it.  He  wore 
the  same  imperturbable  face,  exhibited  the  same 
quiet,  composed  manner.  Nothing  could  rouse 
him  into  any  impulsive  action  or  word.  Stand- 
ding  amid  a  hundred  guns  in  the  very  vortex 
of  battle,  before  kings,  in  royal  palaces  sur- 
rounded by  the  most  brilliant  courts  of  Europe, 
and  in  his  low  sulky,  with  his  pony  and  boy, 
he  was  the  same  man,  as  impervious  apparently 
to  external  influences  as  a  block  of  granite. 
Having  enjoyed  this  apparently  aimless  life  as 
long  as  he  could  and  be  in  St.  Petersburg  at  the 


INTERVIEW    WITH   THE    CZAR.  475 

time  lie  had  fixed,  be  turned  back  to  Christiana, 
where  an  enthusiastic  welcome  was  given  him. 
King  Oscar  invited  him  to  his  royal  palace  afc 
Stockholm  and  gave  him  a  grand  dinner,  but 
General  Grant  made  a  short  stay  at  the  capital. 
The  next  day  he  took  the  boat  for  Cronstadt, 
some  four  hundred  miles  distant.  As  he  entered 
the  port  all  the  vessels  in  it  flung  out  their  flags, 
while  the  forts  that  frowned  above  it  thundered 
forth  a  salute.  Hastening  on  board  a  steam- 
boat he  steamed  up  the  Neva  to  St.  Petersburg. 
He  was  received  by  our  Minister,  Mr.  Stough- 
ton,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  was  called  upon 
by  Prince  Gortchakoff:  and  other  officers  of  the 
court,  who  welcomed  him  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor.  An  audience  with  the  latter  was  ar- 
ranged for  the  following  day. 

The  meeting  was  a  very  cordial  one,  though 
brief,  the  Emperor  following  his  guest  to  the 
door  at  his  departure,  and,  speaking  of  the 
friendship  that  existed  between  Russia  and 
America,  said,  "  As  long  as  I  live  nothing  shall 
be  spared  to  continue  this  friendship."  Grant, 
reciprocating  his  good  wishes,  passed  out  of  the 
palace  and  drove  away,  glad  that  the  interwiew 
was  over,  for  talking  through  an  interpreter  is 
always  embarrassing.  The  Grand  Duke  Alexis 
called  on  him,  and  inquired  the  particulars  of 
the  death  of  Ouster,  whom  he  met  in  his  hunt* 


ing  expedition  on  our  Western  frontier  when  lie 
visited  our  country. 

The  longest  interview  was  with  Prince  Gort- 
chakofr*,  who  showed  much  curiosity  concerning 
the  workings  of  our  political  institutions,  so  un- 
like those  of  Russia. 

There  were  palaces  to  be  seen,  such  as  the 
great  winter  palace  of  the  Emperor,  that  during 
his  residence  in  it  requires  five  thousand  occu- 
pants to  complete  its  household.  But  General 
Grant's  visit  here,  as  elsewhere,  was  so  hurried 
that  he  could  barely  get  a  glimpse  of  the  great 
imperial  city,  and  the  customs  and  habits  of  the 
people,  so  unlike  those  of  his  own  land.  The 
Emperor  put  his  yacht  at  his  disposal,  in  which 
he  made  a  trip  fifteen  miles  distant  to  Peterhof, 
the  Versailles  of  St.  Petersburg. 

He  made  a  visit  also  to  the  Russian  man-of- 
war,  Peter  the  Great,  and  was  received  with  a 
salute  of  twenty-one  guns,  and  then  kept  on 
down  the  Neva,  and  passed  through  the  Rus- 
sian fleet  at  Cronstadt.  As  he  did  so  the  stars 
and  stripes  were  run  up,  the  yards  manned,  and 
cheer  after  cheer  rang  over  the  water. 

Having  seen  the  principal  objects  of  the  city, 
and  enjoyed  its  princely  hospitality,  he  bade  it 
adieu,  and  took  the  cars  for  Moscow,  some  four 
hundred  miles  distant,  the  road  runnin^  almost 

o 

the  whole  distance  in  a  straight  line.     The  two 


THE   KOAB   TO    MOSCOW.  477 

American  engineers  that  laid  it  out  followed  the 
rule  observed  in  this  country,  which  is,  in  con- 
necting two  distant  points,  to  deviate  here  and 
there  a  little  in  order  to  take  in  the  large  towns 
between  them,  so  as  to  not  only  increase  the 
commerce  of  the  road  but  accommodate  the 
people.  But  despots  think  only  of  accommodat- 
ing themselves,  so  when  the  plan  of  the  road 
was  shown  to  the  Emperor  he  looked  at  it  a 
few  moments,  then  quietly  drew  a  straight  line 
between  the  two  cities,  and  said,  "  Build  the 
road  there."  It  was  not  for  him  to  think  about 
the  people  or  the  hills;  nor  for  the  engineers 
that  he  employed,  and  so  the  road  was  laid  down 
straight.  Neither  was  it  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
any  company,  to  be  run  as  economy  or  self- 
interest  required,  but  the  Emperor's  will  was  to 
be  the  time-table,  and  so  the  rate  was  fixed  at 
thirty  miles  an  hour,  with  a  stoppage  of  an 
hour  for  dinner.  But  the  imperious  will  made 
a  new  time-table  for  General  Grant,  and  the 
engineers  were  ordered  to  be  twenty  hours  in 
going  the  distance,  which  would  allow  about 
seven  hours  for  rest.  This  made  it  very  com- 
fortable, but  the  American  party  would  rather 
have  gone  in  the  usual  time,  and  had  the 
seven  hours  in  Moscow,  for  it  was  most  of  the 
way  a  dreary,  desolate  ride ;  the  rude  huts  of 
the  peasants,  the  women  working  with  the  men 


478  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

in  the  half-cultivated  fields,  being  the  chief 
feature  in  the  desolate  scene,  until  Moscow  is 
approached,  when  the  landscape  changes,  and 
villas  and  pleasure-grounds  and  gardens  meet 
the  eye.  . 

This  old  capital  is  totally  unlike  St.  Peters- 
burg in  its  plan.  Instead  of  blocks  of  buildings, 
gardens  and  grounds  separate  the  houses  as 
in  New  England  villages,  while  from  the  centre 
rise  the  magnificent  Kremlin  towers,  of  which 
there  are  one  hundred  and  sixty.  This  world- 
renowned  citadel  covers  a  space  of  ground  two 
miles  in  circumference.  Its  main  tower  rises 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  into  the  air,  and  in 
it  swings  forty  bells,  which,  when  all  are  rung 
together,  can  be  heard  miles  away.  The  largest 
weighs  sixty  tons. 

Of  the  four  days  that  General  Grant  had  de- 
cided to  give  to  Moscow,  he  devoted  more  time 
to  this  than  to  any  other  object.  At  the  foot  of 
the  main  tower  is  a  cracked  bell,  which  fell  from 
it  when  it  was  burned  more  than  a  hundred  years 
ago,  and  weighs  four  hundred  thousand  pounds, 
it  is  now  used  as  a  chapel.  Among  the  many 
pleasant  drives  he  took,  the  one  to  Sparrow 
Hill,  the  Emperor's  villa,  which  overlooks  the 
entire  city,  with  its  framework  of  villas,  cot- 
tages, and  gardens,  was  the  most  charming. 

The  four  days  over,  he  took  the  train  for  War- 


AUDIENCE  WITH  THE  EMPEROR  OF  AUSTRIA.    479 

saw,  the  ancient  capital  of  Poland,  five  hundred 
miles  distant.  But  he  only  roade  a  short  halt 
here,  and  kept  on  to  Vienna,  where  he  arrived 
on  the  18th  of  August,  to  find  the  American 
embassy,  and  the  Americans  in  the  city,  at  the 
station  waiting  to  receive  him.  The  same  even- 
ing he  had  an  interview  with  Count  Andrassy, 
first  minister  of  the  council.  The  second  day 
after,  he  had  an  audience  with  the  Emperor. 
This  city  is  gay  and  attractive,  like  Paris,  and  the 
hospitality  extended  to  him  on  every  side,  with 
balls  and  fetes,  caused  him  to  overstay  the  time 
he  had  allotted  to  it.  As  a  rule,  his  trip  resem- 
bled a  military  march  instead  of  an  excursion  of 
pleasure — all  the  halting-places,  with  the  time 
for  stopping,  being  fixed  with  soldier-like  pre- 
cision. 

He  roamed  through  the  palaces,  churches,  and 
museums  here,  drove  around  the  beautiful  envi- 
rons, and  made  a  flying  visit  to  Baden,  so  fa- 
mous for  its  baths,  and  then  was  off  for  Munich. 
This  is  unlike  Vienna,  being  a  rather  quaint- 
looking  city.  It  is  full  of  works  of  art  well 
worth  seeing,  while  its  library,  next  to  Paris,  is 
the  largest  in  the  world,  containing  books  and 
manuscripts,  in  all  eight  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  thousand  volumes.  General  Grant,  after  a 
hasty  visit  to  the  principal  objects  of  interest, 
went  to  Augsburg,  and  thence  to  Ulm,  where 


480  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

Mack,  in  1805,  surrendered  his  entire  army  ta 
Napoleon;  reminding  him  of  his  Yicksburg 
campaign  and  the  surrender  of  the  rebel  army. 
Crossing  again  a  portion  of  Switzerland,  on  the 
third  day,  he  reached  Lyons,  celebrated  for  its 
silk  manufactories.  The  train  sped  on  through 
the  country,  and  vineyards,  cultivated  fields,  ham- 
lets, and  the  tall  chimneys  of  manufactories  came 
and  went  in  rapid  succession.  Making  only  a 
short  halt  at  the  Vichy  springs,  he  kept  on  to 
Bordeaux,  situated  on  the  Garonne.  Here  he 
stopped  long  enough  to  visit  the  vast  wine- 
cellars  and  brandy  store-houses  of  this  famous 
wine-making  city,  and  then  proceeded  to  Spain, 
in  accordance  with  an  invitation  he  had  received 
from  King  Alfonso  to  make  him  a  visit.  He 
made  a  short  stop  at  Biarritz,  famous  as  being 
the  seaside  residence  of  Eugenie  when  Empress 
of  France.  As  he  crossed  the  borders,  he  was 
met  at  Irun  by  a  general  of  the  King,  who  wel- 
comed him  in  the  name  of  his  majesty  to  Spain, 
and  placed  a  separate  coach  at  his  disposal.  The 
road  leading  through  the  defiles  of  the  Pyrenees 
opened  up  wild  scenery  to  the  travellers,  which 
changed  to  smiling  villages  and  cultivated  fields 
as  the  train  dashed  down  the  southern  slope 
and  sped  away  toward  Madrid.  The  King 
came  out  of  the  city  as  far  as  Vitoria  to  meet 
him,  and  solved  the  highly  important  question 


MEETS   CA3TELAR    AND    KING    ALFONSO.      481 

as  to  how  a  king  should  receive  a  simple  Amer- 
ican citizen,  by  resolving  to  receive  him  as 
Captain- General  of  the  Spanish  Army. 

At  Tolosa,  General  Grant,  hearing  that  ex- 
President  Castelar  was  on  the  platform  of  the 
station,  said  he  should  like  to  see  him.  The 
latter,  receiving  Grant's  message,  hastened  for- 
ward to  his  car,  and  a  short  conversation  be- 
tween the  two  ex-presidents  followed ;  Grant 
thanked  him  for  his  friendship  for  the  United 
States,  and  especially  for  his  sympathy  with  the 
North  during  the  Rebellion,  and  frankly  told 
him  there  was  no  man  in  Spain  he  was  so  anx- 
ious to  see  as  himself.  With  a  cordial  grasp  of 
the  hand  they  parted,  one  to  go  on  to  St.  Sebas- 
tian and  the  other  to  Madrid,  where  they  hoped 
to  meet  again. 

Grant  entered  Yitoria  in  a  pouring  rain,  and 
was  received  with  great  ceremony  by  the  offi- 
cials, who  informed  him  that  the  King  would 
receive  him  the  next  morning.  So  the  next  day 
at  the  appointed  hour  he  drove  up  to  the  pal- 
ace, and  was  taken  through  a  large  anteroom 
filled  with  officers  of  rank  to  the  library,  where 
the  King  awaited  him.  The  meeting  was  very 
cordial,  the  King  expressing  the  strong  desire 
he  had  felt  to  see  him,  and  complimenting  him 
highly.  In  thanking  him,  General  Grant  spoke 
of  the  sympathy  the  people  of  the  United  States 
91 


482  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

felt  for  Mm  on  the  loss  of  his  wife.  The  King 
replied,  that  he  had  noticed  this  in  the  Ameri- 
can newspapers,  and  it  had  touched  him  deeply, 
saying  that  their  marriage  had  been  purely  a 
love-match,  as  they  had  been  engaged  ever  since 
he  was  fifteen  years  old.  He  said  their  mar- 
ried life  had  been  a  very  happy  one,  and  that 
she  helped  him  to  bear  the  burden  of  his  regal 
position,  which  was  very  distasteful  to  him. 
Grant  replied  that  the  eight  years  of  his  presi- 
dency had  been  the  most  disagreeable  ones  of 
his  life.  This  mere  youth  of  twenty  seemed 
glad  to  open  his  heart  to  the  great  American 
soldier,  and  the  earnest  confiding  manner  of  the 
one  made  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  calm,  kind, 
unaffected,  simple  bearing  of  the  other. 

The  route  from  here  to  Madrid  lay  through 
a  barren,  unpicturesque  country.  The  chief  ob- 
jects of  interest  in  the  city  are  the  royal  palace, 
which  with  its  grounds  covers  nearly  eighty 
acres,  the  armory,  and  the  royal  picture  gallery, 
500  feet  long.  The  usual  complimentary  dinner 
was  given  by  our  Minister,  Mr.  Lowell.  The 
chief  object  of  interest  outside  of  the  city  is  the 
Escurial,  which  is  reached  by  a  drive  of  about 
an  hour  and  a  half  over  a  rough  road.  It  is  a 
magnificent  structure,  700  feet  long  and  540  feet 
wide;  and,  standing  on  an  eminence  2,700  feet 
high,  presents  a  remarkable  appearance.  Gen- 


VISITS   THE   ESOURIAL.  483 

era]  Grant  wandered  through  its  magnificent 
apartments ;  descended  to  the  royal  tomb,  thirty- 
eight  feet  high  with  walls  of  jasper  and  por- 
phyry ;  visited  the  four  rooms  once  occupied  by 
Queen  Isabella  in  the  summer-time ;  and  then 
mounted  to  the  top,  to  get  the  wonderful  view 
that  stretched  away  on  every  side.  He  then 
returned  to  the  city,  filled  with  admiration  of 
this  great  structure,  the  pride  of  Spain,  and  one 
of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  He  now  prepared 
to  leave  for  Lisbon.  But  just  before  starting, 
as  he  was  sitting  at  the  window,  looking  at  a 
royal  procession  passing  through  the  city  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  plaza,  he  saw  the  smoke  of 
a  pistol  rise  from  the  crowd,  followed  by  a  great 
commotion.  The  King  had  been  fired  at,  and 
the  news  spread  like  wild-fire  through  the  city. 
Grant's  arrangements  having  all  been  made,  he 
could  not  remain  over  to  offer  his  congratula- 
tions to  the  King  on  his  escape,  but  he  sent 
them  through  the  Minister  of  State,  who,  not- 
withstanding the  confusion  caused  by  the  at- 
tempted assassination,  accompanied  him  with 
true  Castilian  courtesy  to  the  station. 

The  King  of  Portugal  not  being  in  Lisbon, 
his  officials  received  him  in  his  name.  His 
father's  second  wife  was  a  public  singer  from 
Boston,  and  though  of  course  the  marriage  was 
never  recognized,  she  is  much  respected,  and  is 


484  UF£  OF 


called  the  Countess  d'Edla.  She  escorted  Grant 
through  the  palace,  expressing  as  she  did  so  the 
pleasure  she  felt  in  paying  attention  to  one  of 
her  own  countrymen.  The  King  arriving  the 
next  day,  gave  him  a  public  reception,  in  the 
great  audience-chamber  ;  then  he  took  him  into  a 
private  apartment,  where  they  had  a  long  con- 
versation together  respecting  the  two  countries. 

The  next  evening,  at  a  dinner  given  in  the 
palace,  the  King  renewed  their  conversation,  and 
invited  General  Grant  to  go  on  a  hunt  with 
him,  he  himself  being  a  great  shot.  But  the 
latter  excused  himself,  and  the  King  then  in- 
vited him  to  visit  his  palace  at  Cintra,  fifteen 
miles  from  Lisbon.  This  he  accepted  with 
pleasure,  not  only  as  it  is  the  object  most 
worth  seeing,  but  the  drive  to  it  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  in  the  kingdom. 

The  palace  stands  on  a  rocky  eminence,  three 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
commands  one  of  the  most  beautiful  prospects 
in  the  world.  While  on  one  side  the  descent  is 
gradual  to  the  village  lying  at  its  base,  on  the 
other  it  is  a  precipice  going  almost  perpendicu- 
lar down  to  the  chasm  at  its  base.  On  the 
farther  side  of  this  abyss  the  ground  again 
slopes  up,  dotted  with  green  fields  —  beyond 
stretches  away  the  chain  of  the  Torres  Vedras, 
while  the  blue  sea  gleams  along  the  distant 


ENTERTAINED  BY  THE  KING  OF  PORTUGAL.     485 

.horizon.  Grant  visited  also  the  old  Alhambra, 
strolled  through  its  halls  till  weary  and  hungry, 
when  the  party  went  to  a  hotel  and  dined. 
They  then,  as  the  sun  was  going  down  in  glory, 
took  their  carriages  and  drove  back  to  Lisbon. 

The  King  is  a  literary  man,  having  translated 
several  of  Shakespeare's  plays  into  Portuguese, 
among  them  "  Hamlet,"  which  he  presented  to 
Grant.  He  wished  also  to  present  him  with  the 
Grand  Cross  of  the  "  Tower  and  Sword,"  but  the 
latter  declined  the  honor,  saying  that  though  he 
had  no  official  position  now,  yet,  having  been 
President,  he  had  rather  not  receive  any  deco- 
ration, as  they  were  forbidden  by  law  to  officers 
of  the  Government. 

From  here  General  Grant  went  to  the  ancient 
city  of  Cordova,  on  the  Guadalquivir,  a  day's 
ride.  It  being  the  old  Moorish  capital,  it  con- 
tains mosques  and  palaces  in  great  numbers. 
Its  cathedral,  built  by  the  Arabs  when  they 
held  Spain,  is  540  feet  long  and  nearly  400  feet 
wide,  with  450  columns  dividing  it  up  into  44 
aisles. 

Seville,  which  he  next  visited,  is  eighty  miles 
distant,  once  the  gayest  city  of  Spain,  and  dis- 
tinguished for  the  beauty  and  dissoluteness  of 
its  women  and  disgusting  bull-fights.  The  old 
Moorish  palace,  though  filled  with  great  associa- 
tions, has  now  connected  with  it  nothing  of  so 


486  UFE    OF   GRANT. 

much  interest  to  Grant  and  his  party,  as  the 
private  chapel  where  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
received  Columbus,  who  here  stood  with  his 
map  in  his  hand,  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
sail  into  the  unknown  West,  where  lay  a  new 
world. 

But  grand  as  the  old  Moorish  palace  is,  it 
does  not  cover  so  much  ground  as  the  tobacco 
factory  close  by,  which  is  660  feet  long,  and  em- 
ploys 5,000  young  girls. 

The  climate  here  is  of  rare  purity,  which 
makes  the  promenades  along  the  Guadalquivir 
delightful,  especially  toward  sunset. 

The  road  from  here  to  Cadiz  runs  along  this 
river,  and  Grant  stopped  there  a  few  hours  on 
his  wa^r  to  Gibraltar.  It  is  thought  to  be  the 
oldest  city  in  Europe,  being  founded  more  than 
a  thousand  years  before  Christ,  but  there  is 
nothing  in  it  to  detain  the  traveller  long. 

Lord  Napier,  at  Gibraltar,  received  General 
Grant  warmly,  and  invited  him  to  dinner  that 
evening.  Napier  had  long  wished  to  see  Grant, 
and  felt,  he  said,  somewhat  as  an  old  acquaint- 
ance, for  he  had  sent  him  King  Theodore's  Bible, 
after  the  overthrow  of  that  monarch  in  Abys- 
sinia. They  were  together  most  of  the  time 
during  his  short  stay,  and  Grant  with  him  re- 
viewed the  British  troops,  whose  marching  and 
bearing  called  forth  the  warmest  eulogies  from 


WITH   LORD    NAPIER    AT    GIBRALTAR.         487 

the  American  soldier.  There  being  nothing  to 
see  in  Gibraltar  but  the  rock  itself,  which  has 
been  tunnelled  into  an  impregnable  fortress,  he 
soon  turned  back  toward  England,  stopping 
at  Pau,  the  great  watering-place,  a  few  days, 
to  enjoy  its  promenades,  and  delicious  air,  and 
fine  scenery.  Mr.  Douglas,  an  American,  gave 
him  a  dinner,  and  at  its  close  offered  the  follow- 
ing toast :  "  Unconditional  Surrender  Grant" 
The  latter  replied,  as  -he  never  could  make 
speeches,  he  would  now  justify  the  epithet  by 
making  an  unconditional  surrender,  which  short 
speech  was  received  with  uproarious  cheers. 
He  declined  the  honor  of  a  hunt  given  him  by 
an  English  earl,  and  hastened  on  to  Paris. 
Stopping  only  long  enough  to  dine  with  Presi- 
dent MacMahon,  he  went  to  Southampton,  where 
he  left  his  wife  with  Mrs.  Sartoris,  in  order  to 
take  a  hasty  trip  over  to  Ireland.  After  rest- 
ing a  day  or  two,  he  started  for  Dublin,  which 
he  reached  on  January  5th,  and  was  received 
with  the  usual  honors  by  the  Lord  Mayor, 
who,  in  imitation  of  London  and  Glasgow,  ten- 
dered him  the  freedom  of  the  city.  In  reply  to 
the  address  accompanying  it,  the  latter  said : 
"  Having  now  been  made  citizen  of  London,  and 
Glasgow,  and  Ireland,  I  might  be  considered  a 
complete  subject  of  Great  Britain."  He  visited 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  containing  the  speci« 


488  LIFE    OP   GRANT. 

mens  of  ancient  Irish  art  in  silver,  and  gold,  and 
bronze ;  drove  to  the  old  parliamentary  house, 
and  strolled  through  Trinity  College. 

In  the  evening  a  grand  banquet  was  given 
him  at  the  Mansion  House,  and  when  Grant's 
name  was  proposed  in  a  toast,  it  was  received 
with  the  tumultuous,  enthusiastic  cheers  that  the 
Irish  know  so  well  how  to  give.  In  reply  he 
made  one  of  the  longest  speeches  he  had  yet  de- 
livered. He  spoke  jestingly  of  himself  as  a 
citizen  of  Dublin,  and  said  he  might  run  against 
the  other  candidates,  either  for  Mayor  or  Mem- 
ber of  Parliament.  He  then  spoke  at  large  of 
his  country,  the  depression  through  which  it 
had  passed,  and  its  now  rising  prosperity,  quot- 
ing in  conclusion  the  words  of  Lord  Beacons- 
field,  that  "  that  prosperity  would  be  felt  to  the 
end  of  the  world." 

The  first  to  welcome  Grant,  when  he  reached 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  was  a  deputation 
from  Cork,  which  boarded  the  vessel  at  Queens- 
town,  inviting  him  to  visit  their  city.  He 
thanked  them,  and  promised  to  do  so  at  some 
future  time.  As  the  city  was  the  first  to  wel- 
come him  to  the  Old  World,  so  now  it  was 
the  first  to  insult  him.  When  the  American 
Consul  informed  the  Council  of  the  city  that 
General  Grant  was  about  to  make  his  prom- 
ised visit,  they  coolly  resolved  not  to  receive 


IK    DUBLIN    AND    LONDONDERRY.  489 

him  with  any  public  attention,  on  account  of 
liis  feelings  against  Catholics.  Perhaps  it  was 
because  he  did  not  condescend  to  stop  there 
before  he  went  on  to  Liverpool.  It  was  in 
bad  taste,  undoubtedly,  to  prefer  London  to 
Cork.  The  supercilious  city  officials  evidently 
wished  to  show  their  dignity,  and  succeeded 
only  in  making  themselves  ridiculous.  Grant 
accordingly  turned  aside  to  Derry,  starting 
on  the  morning  of  January  6th.  A  driving 
storm  of  snow  and  sleet  was  raging,  yet  enthu- 
siastic crowds  were  assembled  at  every  station, 
cheering  him  to  the  echo,  and  even  pressing  into 
the  carriage  to  shake  hands  with  him.  Reach- 
ing the  city  at  two  o'clock,  he  was  received 
with  all  honors  by  the  Mayor,  and  driven  to  the 
Town  Hall  through  a  surging  crowd  that  rent 
the  air  with  cheers.  It  seemed  that  they  had 
not  found  out,  like  the  Corkonians,  Grant's  anti- 
Catholic  feelings.  The  next  morning  he  was  ofE 
for  Belfast  in  a  heavy  snow-storm,  greeted  as 
before,  all  along  the  route  with  the  enthusi- 
astic cheers  of  the  multitude  assembled  at  the 
stations.  Reaching  the  city  at  half-past  two, 
the  same  reception  and  ceremonies  awaited  him 
as  at  Derry.  During  the  luncheon  at  four 
o'clock,  the  crowd,  heedless  of  the  pelting  storm, 
surrounded  the  building  cheering  lustily.  A 
Roman  Catholic  bishop  was  given  the  post  of 


490  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

honor  at  the  table,  and  the  generous  Irishmen 
and  officials  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  hi 
showing  their  contempt  for  Cork,  and  their  anx- 
iety to  wipe  out  the  unprovoked  insult  given  by 
it  to  their  illustrious  visitor. 

Having  taken  a  mere  bird's-eye  view  of  Ire- 
land, Grant  now  returned  to  England,  prepara- 
tory to  his  final  leave  of  Europe. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

General  Grant  Turns  his  Footsteps  to  the  East — The  Party 
Reduced — Goes  in  a  French  Steamer  to  Alexandria — By 
Rail  to  Suez — Embarks. in  the  Richmond  for  Bombay — 
The  Voyage — Grand  Recepjbion — Malabar  Point — Strange- 
looking  Population — A  Week  Poorly  Spent — Cave  of  the 
Elephants — Journey  to  Delhi — Reception  at  Bhurtpoor — 
Its  Magnificent  Ruins — Agra — A  Magnificent  Tomb — 
Delhi — Description  of— Palace  of  the  Grand  Mogul — 
Jeypoor — Its  Sights — Through  Lucknow  to  Allahabad — 
Reception  at  Benares — A  City  of  Priests— Its  Streets  and 
Temples — Sight-seeing — Reception  at  Calcutta,  the  Capi- 
tal of  the  British  Empire  in  the  East — Public  Attentions 
— Novel  Way  of  Cleaning  and  Watering  Streets — Disap- 
pointment— A  Flying  Trip  to  Burmah — Rangoon — Its  Re- 
ligion— Elephants — Their  Use  Here — Trip  to  Siam — The 
Voyage — Anniversary  of  Lee's  Surrender — Vexatious  De- 
lay— Almost  an  Accident— A  Showy  Reception — The  Pal- 
ace of  the  Prince  Placed  at  Grant's  Disposal— A  Grand 
Dinner— Visits  the  Regent  and  King — "  The  Star  Spangled 
Banner"— Second  King  and  First  King — A  Royal  Dinner 
—Costly  Silver  Service— A  Social  Chat— The  Great  Pa- 
goda. 

GENERAL  GRANT  had  now  visited  every  na- 
tionality of  Europe.  He  had  accomplished  all 
this  in  little  more  than  two  years  and  a  half. 
Thirty  years  ago  this  would  have  been  impos- 
sible, for  the  network  of  railroads  that  now 
covers  the  continent  did  not  then  exist.  This 


492  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

rapid  motion,  of  course,  did  not  give  him  time 
to  study  the  practical  workings  of  the  different 
forms  of  government  among  the  people,  nor  to 
become  familiar  with  their  social  condition. 
He  did  not  travel  for  this  purpose.  Curiosity 
and  the  desire  of  change  of  climate  and  scenes, 
and  the  diversion  of  his  mind  from  everything 
that  would  continue  the  strain  that  had  been  on 
it  for  the  last  twelve  years,  were  his  controlling 
motives. 

Having  had  a  glance  at  every  European  state, 
seen  its  great  objects  of  interest,  and  noted  its 
customs  and  habits,  he  now  hastened  his  depart- 
ure for  the  East,  where  entirely  new  forms  of 
civilization  or  half -civilization  were  to  be  seen. 
The  government  war- vessel,  the  Richmond,  which 
had  been  detailed  to  carry  him  thither,  being  de- 
tained, he  determined  not  to  wait  for  it,  but  to 
go  in  a  French  steamer  direct  to  Alexandria. 
Before  starting  the  party  was  re-organized,  all 
leaving  the  General  but  his  wife,  son,  Mr.  Borie, 
Dr.  Keating,  and  the  Herald  correspondent. 
Embarking  at  Marseilles,  they  on  the  seventh 
day  entered  the  port  of  Alexandria,  and  imme- 
diately took  the  train  across  the  desert  to  Suez. 
Reaching  this  terminus  of  the  canal,  they  pushed 
their  way  through  a  crowd  of  donkeys  and  yell- 
ing, dirty  Arab  boys  offering  their  services,  to  a 
hotel.  Finding  that  the  steamer  that  was  to 


.       STARTS    FOR   INDIA.  493 

take  them  to  Bombay  was  not  yet  through  the 
canal,  they,  to  kill  time,  mounted  donkeys,  and 
made  a  tour  of  the  dull,  uninteresting  town.  In 
the  afternoon,  to  their  great  relief,  the  steamer 
glided  out  of  the  canal  into  port,  and  immedi- 
ately all  was  bustle  and  hurry  to  get  their  bag- 
gage aboard,  and  by  eight  o'clock,  everything 
being  ready,  the  vessel  turned  her  prow  east- 
ward, and  was  soon  ploughing  the  waters  of 
the  Red  Sea.  While  going  down  the  coast  the 
stifling  winds  from  the  desert  made  the  voyage 
hot  and  uncomfortable,  and  the  party  would  lie 
scattered  around  on  deck  beneath  the  awning, 
trying  to  find  the  coolest  place,  Grant  part  of 
the  time  consulting  a  map  of  India,  in  order  to 
lay  out  his  route  economically  as  to  time,  and 
yet  see  the  most  interesting  portions  of  the 
country. 

At  last  they  reached  Aden,  the  Gibraltar  of 
the  Red  Sea,  and  sailed  out  into  the  Indian 
Ocean,  leaving  the  hot  breezes  of  the  desert  be- 
hind them.  Monotonous  days  and  nights  fol- 
lowed, but  at  last,  on  February  13th,  our  trav- 
ellers, looking  eastward,  saw  dimly  rising  out 
of  the  sea  the  towers  and  minarets  of  Bombay. 

When  General  Grant  left  Europe,  he  sup- 
posed he  would  to  a  certain  extent  be  free  from 
that  round  of  ceremonies  to  which  he  had  been 
subjected  from  even  the  smallest  town.  But  as 


494  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

they  approached  the  port,  he  saw  all  the  vessels 
in  it  were  gay  with  bunting,  while  the  wharf 
was  darkened  with  the  crowds  assembled  to 
welcome  him.  The  sea  cable  had  flashed  the 
news  of  the  ship  on  which  he  sailed,  and  so  the 
day  and  almost  the  hour  of  its  arrival  were 
known.  As  they  passed  the  English  flag-ship, 
an  officer  representing  the  Admiral  came  along 
side,  and  welcomed  General  Grant  to  Bombay. 
On  landing,  a  letter  was  handed  him  from  the 
Governor-General,  offering  him  the  use  of  the 
Government  House,  at  Malabar  Point.  Enter 
ing  the  state  carriage,  escorted  by  native  cavalry, 
he  made  his  way  to  Malabar  Point,  and  there 
took  up  his  quarters  during  his  brief  stay  in 
Bombay.  Coming  fresh  from  the  cities  of  Eu- 
rope, Bombay  was  like  a  new  world  to  him. 
Swarming  with  life  like  London  or  Paris,  it  was 
yet  totally  different.  Tawny  skins  and  striped 
faces,  and  the  loose  and  gorgeously  colored 
garments  of  the  women  presented  a  striking 
contrast  to  them,  which  the  rings  in  their  noses, 
and  bracelets  jingling  on  their  ankles,  as  they 
glided  barefoot  along  the  streets,  heightened  still 
more.  On  the  other  hand,  the  laboring  classes 
moved  about  with  nothing  but  a  strip  of  cloth 
around  their  loins  and  a  thick  fold  of  cloth  on 
their  heads,  while  carts  drawn  by  little  oxen 
trotting  along  the  streets,  instead  of  omnibuses, 


A   WT2EK  IK   BOMBAY.  495 

completed  the  strange  scene  which  the  out-door 
life  of  the  city  presents. 

General  Grant  spent  a  week  here,  and  though 
his  outlook  over  the  sea  made  his  quarters 
pleasant,  he  had  scarcely  time  for  anything 
but  to  accept  the  invitations  extended  to  him 
from  all  sides.  Balls,  levies,  dinners,  luncheons, 
visits  to  the  schools  and  missions,  and  calls  of 
ceremony  on  officials  followed  each  other  in 
rapid  succession,  so  that  at  the  end  of  the  week 
he  felt  that  much  of  his  time  had  been  wasted. 

Among  the  various  objects  of  curiosity  that 
he  visited  was  the  Cave  of  the  Elephants,  on  an 
island  some  seven  miles  from  the  city.  It  takes 
its  name  from  a  gigantic  elephant  in  stone, 
which  in  ages  past  stood  there.  Within  are 
three  colossal  images  representing  the  Hindoo 
trinity. 

A  farewell  dinner  was  given  him,  and  then 
he  started  for  Agra  and  Delni,  for  the  purpose 
of  visiting  that  part  of  India  which  illustrates 
its  grandeur  and  state  of  civilization  before  the 
British  conquest.  It  is  a  long  and  tedious 
journey,  and  presented  very  little  to  interest 
the  traveller  on  the  way.  The  scattered  vil- 
lages through  which  they  passed,  some  near  by 
and  some  far  away,  consisted  mostly  of  low, 
mud  hovels,  unenlivened  by  a  single  spire  or 
minaret.  The  scenery  grew  more  attractive, 


496  LIFE    OF   GBAtfT. 

however,  as  they  began  slowly  to  ascend  the 
Ghaut  Mountains.  To  break  up  the  long  jour- 
ney, Grant  stopped  at  Bhurtpoor  a  day,  to  visit 
the  remarkable  ruins  of  Futtipoor-Sikra.  This 
province,  with  a  population  of  about  750,000, 
was  presided  over  by  a  Maharaja,  a  young 
man  about  thirty  years  old,  who,  advised  of  Gen- 
eral Grant's  intention  to  stop  there,  met  him  at 
the  station  with  a  brilliant  escort.  Haughty, 
handsome,  and  graceful,  he  received  his  guest 
like  a  king,  and  led  him  to  his  old  tumble-down 
palace  to  breakfast.  Grant  and  his  wife  were 
then  conducted  to  an  adjoining  ruin,  where 
they  were  waited  upon  in  state,  and  where  they 
passed  the  night,  serenaded  by  jackals  and 
hyenas. 

The  next  morning  they  set  out  to  visit  the 
ruins,  which  were  some  seven  miles  in  circum- 
ference, and  illustrate  the  barbaric  wealth  and 
splendor  of  former  times.  The  mosque  is  said 
to  be  the  most  splendid  one  in  all  India.  Grant 
could  get  no  information  of  the  early  history  of 
these  magnificent  ruins. 

The  next  day  the  party  started  for  Agra, 
which  in  past  centuries  was  the  heart  of  the 
great  Mogul  Empire,  and  of  which  the  King  of 
Delhi  was  the  last  representative.  Being  com- 
promised in  the  great  mutiny,  he  was  captured 
and  sent  to  prison,  where  he  died.  The  royal 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   TAJ.  497 

palace  still  stands,  built  from  foundation  stone 
to  lofty  dome  of  the  purest  white  marble, 
while  the  apartments  within,  with  their  richly 
tessellated  floors,  glitter  in  mosaics  and  pre- 
cious stones.  But  the  great  object  of  curiosity 
here  is  the  Taj,  or  tomb,  of  the  wife  of  the 
Emperor  Shah  Jehan,  built  by  that  monarch  to 
commemorate  the  memory  of  the  wife  that  he 
adored.  To-day,  built  in  this  country,  it  would 
probably  cost  nearly  $100,000,000.  It  stands 
on  the  banks  of  the  Jumna  River,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  garden.  It  is  built  of  pure  white 
marble,  and  is  a  marvellous  exhibition  of  beauty 
and  majesty  combined.  Grecian  art  in  its  palm- 
iest days  could  not  surpass  it.  Seen  by  moon- 
light, its  pure  white  dome  lifts  itself  into  the 
air  with  a  grace  and  beauty  that  makes  it  seem 
more  like  the  creation  of  a  dream  than  a  solid 
structure.  Grant  and  his  party  visited  it  twice 
in  their  short  stay. 

On  the  last  evening,  the  young  prince,  sixteen 
years  old,  presided  over  a  dinner  given  to  Grant 
by  the  Agra  Club.  The  province  has  a  popula- 
tion of  about  a  half  a  million.  After  the  usual 
toasts  and  speech-making  were  over,  the  young 
prince  and  Grant  played  billiards,  in  which  the 
latter  was  beaten,  and  they  then  adjourned  to 
the  broad  veranda,  where  a  company  of  native 
musicians  was  gathered  for  their  entertainment. 


LIFE    OF   GfcANT. 

The  next  morning  before  daylight  Grant 
drove  to  the  station,  expecting  to  get  off  quietly. 
But  as  he  drew  near,  the  sharp  word  of  com- 
mand rung  out  of  the  darkness,  followed  by  the 
rattle  of  arms  as  they  came  to  a  present,  and 
the  band  struck  up  a  lively  air,  while  cannon 
thundered  out  a  farewell  salute.  The  young 
prince  had  determined  to  give  his  distinguished 
guest  a  royal  parting. 

Reaching  Delhi,  weary  and  fagged  out,  he 
had  to  undergo  the  usual  formal  reception,  after 
which  he  was  driven  to  Ludlow  Castle,  the 
quarters  of  Colonel  Young,  the  British  com- 
mandant. This  once  grand  city  was  the  Rome 
of  the  Mogul  Empire.  The  region  around  it 
is,  like  the  Campagna  of  that  city,  covered  with 
magnificent  ruins.  It  has  been  overthrown  and 
rebuilt  seven  times,  and  once  in  the  long  past 
ages  it  is  said  to  have  been  thirty  miles  in  cir- 
cumference and  contained  2,000,000  inhabitants, 
though  now  containing  only  160,000,  while  the 
walls  that  enclose  it  are  but  seven  miles  in  ex- 
tent. Chadney  Chook,  the  Broadway  of  the 
city,  is  lined  with  shops  containing  the  richest 
stuffs  of  Oriental  manufacture.  There  are  many 
odd  sights  to  be  seen  there,  one  of  which  is  ox- 
carts in  the  place  of  omnibuses,  the  drivers  sit- 
ting on  the  tongue  and  urging  the  unwieldly 
animals  into  a  gallop  by  twisting  their  tails, 


THE  PALACE  AT  DELHI.         499 

while  porters  stagger  by  under  weights  that  seem 
impossible  for  a  man  to  carry. 

The  palace  of  the  Grand  Mogul  was  one  of 
the  chief  places  that  Grant  visited.  But  it  is 
shorn  of  its  ancient  splendor,  and  is  now  turned 
into  an  English  fort.  From  the  old  throne-room 
he  saw  stretched  out  below  him  the  vast  plain 
on  which  great  battles  of  elephants  were  wit- 
nessed by  the  King  for  his  amusement,  but  on 
which  now  were  only  groups  of  English  soldiers 
lazily  lounging.  He  visited  also  the  hall  of 
special  audience,  in  which  was  a  throne  called 
the  Peacock  throne,  and  is  said  to  have  cost 
$30,000,000.  But  all  of  its  rich  ornaments  have 
been  carried  away  by  British  officers  since  its 
capture.  It  figured  largely  in  the  great  mutiny, 
and  its  barbaric  splendor  is  fast  fading  away. 

Grant  had  passed  Jeypoor  on  his  way  to  Del- 
hi, and  so  he  now  on  his  return  stopped  to  visit 
it.  Among  the  sights  there  was  one  which  in- 
terested him  much,  being  a  school  of  industry, 
but  he  found  it  was  devoted  mostly  to  the  mak- 
ing of  ornaments  instead  of  ploughs  and  reapers. 

From  here  he  went  to  see  the  collection  of  ti- 
gers kept  for  the  Prince.  On  returning  to  the 
residence  where  they  had  taken  up  their  quar- 
ters, the  party  found  a  company  of  servants  on  the 
veranda,  each  carrying  a  tray  laden  with  fruits 
and  sweetmeats,  sent  from  the  palace  by  the 


500  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

Maharaja,  with  a  message  that  he  would  receive 
General  Grant  at  five  o'clock.  The  latter  drove 
to  the  palace  at  four,  and  was  shown  the  royal 
stables,  and  saw  feats  of  horsemanship  that  as- 
tonished him.  The  party  was  then  led  to  the 
top  of  the  palace,  from  which  a  fine  view  of  the 
city  was  obtained.  It  constitutes  about  one-sixth 
of  the  city,  and  shelters  within  its  walls,  includ- 
ing attendants,  soldiers,  priests,  beggars,  and 
politicians,  about  ten  thousand  people.  They 
strolled  leisurely  through  the  various  apart- 
ments till  five  o'clock,  when  they  went  to  the 
reception  hall.  A  little  complimentary  speech- 
making  followed,  carried  on  through  an  inter- 
preter, when  His  Highness  made  a  gesture,  and 
a  troop  of  dancing  girls  filed  in  to  give  one  of 
those  sacred  dances,  called  the  Nautch,  which  is 
danced  by  Hindoo  girls  of  low  caste  before  the 
idols  in  the  temple.  It  was  a  stupid  perform- 
ance, without  grace  or  beauty,  which  Grant  felt 
to  be  a  great  bore,  and  he  gave  a  sigh  of  relief 
when  it  was  at  last  over.  His  Highness  then 
proposed  a  game  of  billiards.  The  General  ac- 
cepted, though  anything  but  a  brilliant  player. 
The  Prince  considered  it  a  piece  of  Oriental  po- 
liteness to  let  his  guest  beat,  and  so  gave  him 
every  opportunity  to  do  so,  but  all  in  vain.  He 
said  to  one  of  his  attendants,  that  he  tried  to  let 
the  American  beat  him,  but  could  not  succeed ; 


BY    THE    MAHARAJA.  501 

not  a  very  great  compliment  to  the  General's 
playing.  A  stroll  through  the  beautiful  gar- 
dens followed  till  dark,  when  innumerable 
torches  were  lighted,  giving  a  new  charm  to  the 
scene.  They  then  repaired  to  the  hall,  and  went 
through  the  ceremony  of  leave-taking.  This  was 
a  very  elaborate  affair,  and  when  it  was  over 
the  Prince  took  Grant  by  the  hand,  and  led 
him  out  to  the  gateway,  where  the  carriages 
were  waiting.  The  guard  presented  arms,  and 
they  whirled  away  escorted  by  a  troop  of  cav- 
alry. The  Maharaja  had  proposed  to  get  up 
a  grand  tiger-hunt  in  his  honor,  but  Grant  de- 
clined on  account  of  want  of  time. 

Before  taking  his  long  journey  to  Calcutta, 
whither  he  was  now  bound,  Grant  resolved  to 
visit  Lucknow,  that  bore  so  tragical  a  part  in 
the  great  mutiny,  and  which  is  so  intimately 
associated  with  the  brave  Havelock  and  his 
heroic  deeds. 

From  here  he  went  to  Allahabad,  the  city  of 
God,  regarded  by  all  Hindoos  as  the  holiest 
place  in  the  world.  It  stands  at  the  junction  of 
the  Jumna  and  Ganges.  ,  The  faithful  resort  to 
it  from  all  quarters  in  the  winter,  and  by  Janu- 
ary 12th  there  are  sometimes  collected  here  two 
million  souls,  their  white  tents  covering  the 
surrounding  plain  for  miles. 

From  here  to  Benares  it  is  about  seventy 


502  LIFE   OF   GKANT. 

miles,  Grant's  next  stopping  place.  He  arrived 
after  dark,  yet  the  officials  were  there  to  receive 
him,  with  a  guard  of  honor  drawn  up  in  line 
and  a  band  of  music.  With  uncovered  head 
Grant  walked  down  the  line  to  the  carriage 
that  was  waiting  to  receive  him. 

British  officers  and  native  princes  in  gorgeous 
uniform  escorted  him,  and  in  a  blaze  of  torches 
that  lit  up  the  Oriental  scene,  he  was  taken  to 
the  house  of  the  English  Commissioner. 

Benares  is  the  holy  place  of  the  Hindoos,  as 
Allahabad  is  of  the  Mohammedans,  and  is  lit- 
erally a  city  of  priests,  for  in  a  population  of 
200,000  there  are  25,000  Brahmins,  who  prac- 
tically govern  the  city,  and  own  all  its  temples 
and  streams.  It  is  an  unattractive  city,  with 
streets  too  narrow  to  admit  of  a  carriage,  and 
the  upper  classes  are  transported  through  them 
in  sedan-chairs.  Some  of  them  will  not  permit 
two  persons  to  walk  abreast.  The  Commissioner 
had  provided  sedan-chairs  for  the  use  of  Gen- 
eral Grant  and  his  party,  in  which  to  make  the 
tour  of  the  city.  But  the  former  did  not  like 
this  mode  of  conveyance,  and  determined  to  go 
on  foot.  There  being  no  carriages  makes  it 
a  very  silent  city,  and  as  they  moved  along 
through  these  mere  gashes  between  the  houses 
the  effect  was  very  strange.  The  first  temple 
they  entered  was  alive  with  chattering  monkeys, 


AT  ALLAHABAD    AND    BEISTARES.  503 

while  stalls  were  arranged  around  the  walls  for 
the  cows  and  calves  which  the  Hindoos  hold 
sacred.  They  worship  God  through  animals, 
and  hence  both  the  latter  and  worshippers 
mingle  together  in  the  temple  in  the  most 
familiar  way.  One  of  the  girls  having  flung  a 
garland  of  flowers  over  Mrs.  Grant's  neck,  a 
sacred  cow  made  a  rush  for  it,  and  was  munch- 
ing it  like  a  wisp  of  hay  before  anyone,  could 
interfere.  A  policeman,  who  rushed  to  the 
rescue,  had  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to  make  her 
give  up  the  savory  morsel. 

In  the  centre  of  the  temple  was  a  hideous- 
looking  idol,  before  which  was  a  Brahmin 
praying.  Strolling  from  temple  to  temple, 
they  found  them  very  much  alike,  and  soon 
grew  weary  of  them.  There  is  said  to  be  over 
four  hundred  thousand  in  the  city.  Ascending 
to  the  top  of  the  observatory,  they  looked  down 
on  the  city  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  which  with 
the  sacred  Ganges  flowing  close  along  its  walls 
made  a  beautiful  picture.  Descending,  they 
went  aboard  a  steam-launch,  and  passed  before 
the  city,  that  from  the  water  presents  a  strik- 
ing appearance.  They  passed  the  Ghat,  or 
place  where  the  dead  are  burned,  and  saw  a 
funeral  procession  slowly  enter  it. 

It  is  a  twenty-four  hours'  ride  from  Benares 
to  Calcutta,  where  his  India  tour  was  to  end, 


504  1IFE    OF    GRANT. 

with  nothing  to  interest  the  traveller  on  the 
way,  except  the  spectacle  of  camels  and  ele- 
phants ploughing  like  oxen  in  the  fields.  The 
arrival  of  General  Grant  at  this  capital  of  the 
British  Empire  in  the  East  was  the  occasion  of 
great  display  and  imposing  ceremonies. 

His  route  had  been  very  carefully  studied,  in 
order  to  see  in  a  given  time  as  much  as  possible 
of  this  empire  of  India,  embracing  1,500,000 
square  miles,  and  containing  200,000,000  peo- 
ple. Its  grandeur  and  glory  once  centred  in  the 
great  Mogul  Empire,  the  capitals  of  which  were 
Agra  and  Delhi.  Allahabad  is  the  centre  of 
Mohammedanism,  and  Benares  of  Hindooism. 
Now  he  had  reached  Calcutta,  where  lives  the 
Viceroy  who  governs  this  vast  empire.  Lord 
Lytton,  Viceroy  at  this  time,  had  postponed  his 
usual  departure  for  Simla,  his  summer  residence 
in  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  in  order  to  receive 
General  Grant  with  becoming  honors. 

The  public  buildings,  of  course,  were  visited, 
and  on  the  annual  convocation  for  conferring  the 
University  degrees  Grant  was  invited  to  attend 
the  imposing  ceremony.  The  Vice-Chancellor 
made  a  speech  after  the  degrees  were  conferred, 
in  which  he  referred  to  General  Grant  as  an  il- 
lustration of  what  a  noble  ambition,  combined 
with  patient  resolution  and  strong  purpose, 
could  accomplish.  In  the  evening  the  in e vita- 


DESCRIPTION    OF    CALCUTTA.  505 

ble  state  dinner,  with  its  toasts  and  almost  ster- 
eotyped speeches,  followed.  The  next  morning 
he  was  taken  by  a  select  company  in  the  Vice- 
roy's yacht  twelve  miles  up  the  Hoogly,  to  the 
country-place  of  the  latter,  and  lunched  beneath 
a  banyan  tree,  with  a  band  of  music  to  add 
to  the  entertainment.  They  returned  just  in 
time  to  attend  a  state  dinner  given  in  General 
Grant's  honor.  There  was  one  peculiarity  in 
Calcutta  that  he  had  not  before  seen.  The 
streets  are  cleaned  of  garbage  by  jackals,  which 
after  midnight  have  the  run  of  the  city,  filling 
it  with  their  half-human  cries,  and  at  dawn 
skulk  away  to  the  sewers  and  other  hiding 
places.  The  method  of  watering  the  streets 
is  also  quite  original.  A  goat-skin  filled  with 
water  is  strapped  around  a  cooly,  with  the  neck 
left  open,  through  which  he  squirts  with  great 
dexterity  the  water  as  he  walks.  Of  course,  this 
work  requires  a  great  many  men,  but  it  is  well 
done.  While  here,  General  Grant  received  a 
despatch  which  compelled  him  to  change  all  his 
plans.  It  informed  him  that  the  Richmond, 
which  he  expected  to  meet  here,  would  not  ar- 
rive for  some  time,  and  he,  therefore,  resolved 
to  go  to  China  without  it.  But  before  doing  so, 
he  concluded  to  make  a  flying  trip  to  Burmah, 
a  place  not  originally  embraced  in  his  plans. 
Rangoon  is  its  commercial  centre,  and  as  such 


506  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

he  took  a  good  deal  of  interest  in  it.  The  prin- 
cipal object  of  curiosity  here  is  the  great  pagoda 
standing  on  the  banks  of  the  Irrawaddy.  Re- 
ligion is  the  essential  feature  in  every  province 
of  India,  and  Grant  had  carefully  noted  the 
Workings  of  Mohammedanism  and  Hindooism, 
and  here  he  was  brought  in  contact  with  the 
third  great  religion  of  the  East,  Buddhism.  Its 
priests  are  not  hereditary,  and  have  no  caste. 
They  do  not  marry,  live  a  self-denying  monastic 
life,  dress  in  yellow  gowns — yellow  being  a 
sacred  color — and  have  their  heads  and  beards 
closely  shaven.  They  sleep  in  a  sitting  posture, 
and  spend  their  time  praying  and  chanting 
hymns,  and  other  religious  rites  and  ceremonies. 
Animal  life  is  held  sacred,  and  hence  a  Buddhist 
temple  is  very  much  like  a  barnyard.  One  of 
the  curious  sights  in  Burmah  is  the  employ- 
ment of  elephants  on  the  wharves  in  loading 
and  unloading  vessels,  the  huge  animals  picking 
up  a  log  as  easily  as  a  man  would  his  cane. 

Grant's  disappointment  concerning  the  arrival 
of  the  Richmond  having  caused  him  to  abandon 
some  points  marked  down  in  his  plan  of  travel, 
he  determined  to  make  a  trip  to  little  Siam,  in 
answer  to  an  invitation  sent  him  by  the  King. 

Making  a  pleasant  run  down  the  coast  of 
Burmah,  through  the  Straits  of  Malacca  to 
Singapore,  he,  on  April  9th,  took  the  little 


BUDDHISM ON"   THE   WAY   TO    SIAM.         507 

steamer  Kong  Lee,  and  slipped  over  to  the 
Bay  of  Siam.  This  is  a  beautiful  little  bay, 
studded  with  green  islands,  but  from  some  cause 
or  other  a  very  stormy  sheet  of  water.  It  was 
thought  it  would  take  about  four  days  to  reach 
Bangkok,  the  Siamese  capital.  It  rained  when 
they  started,  but  it  soon  cleared  up,  and  night 
came  down  on  the  sea  in  Oriental  splendor,  and 
the  little  party  grouped  on  deck  sat  and  talked 
of  home.  It  was  just  fourteen  years  ago  that 
night  that  Grant  received  Lee's  letter  asking 
on  what  terms  he  would  accept  his  surrender. 
What  a  world  of  strange  memories  and  thrilling 
associations  it  brought  back.  They  sat  up  late, 
watching  the  stars  and  the  slowly  heaving  sea, 
drinking  in  the  exhilarating  air,  and  finally 
concluded  to  have  mattresses  brought  up  to 
sleep  on  deck.  But  they  had  hardly  composed 
themselves  for  the  night,  when  the  watch 
aroused  them  with  the  information  that  it  was 
going  to  rain.  In  a  moment  it  was  all  hurry- 
scurry  for  the  cabin.  The  captain,  however, 
saying  that  the  black  cloud  which  they  saw 
coming  over  the  deep  would  bring  only  wind, 
most  of  them  lay  down  again.  But  before  they 
had  time  to  fall  asleep,  a  roaring  sound  was 
heard,  and  then  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents. 
So  sudden  and  violent  was  the  storm,  that  they 
left  mattresses  and  blankets  all  behind  them  and 


508  tIFE    OF    GHAKt. 

rusted  for  the  cabin.  The  subsequent  nights 
were  a  constant  repetition  of  this  one,  till  at 
last  they  reached  the  Bay  of  Siam. 

Arriving  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  they 
lay  off  the  port  and  bar  all  day  waiting  for  a 
tug  to  take  them  in.  It  was  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  before  the  pilot  came  aboard.  He 
then  ordered  the  anchor  up,  and  the  vessel  was 
got  under  way.  But  the  night  was  dark,  and 
after  losing  his  way  and  floundering  about  for 
an  hour,  he  ordered  it  dropped  again.  To  add 
to  the  vexation,  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain  set  in, 
covering  the  little  craft  with  breakers,  and  fill- 
ing it  with  water,  making  everybody  so  utterly 
uncomfortable  that  all  wished  Siam  were  in  some 
other  part  of  the  world. 

But  the  welcome  morning  at  length  dawned, 
and  the  royal  yacht,  with  the  American  colors 
at  the  fore  and  those  of  Siam  at  the  main,  was 
seen  bearing  down  on  them.  The  American 
Consul,  accompanied  by  an  aid  of  the  King, 
soon  came  on  board,  and  welcomed  Grant  in  the 
name  of  the  Sovereign.  The  rain  was  coming 
down  in  torrents,  and  the  sea  running  high,  as 
the  party  stepped  into  the  boat  to  be  transferred 
to  the  yacht.  As  they  approached  it,  the  toss- 
ing boat  was  hurled  by  the  waves  against  one 
of  the  paddle-wheels,  which  was  in  motion,  and 
for  a  minute  it  seemed  inevitable  that  it  must 


WELCOMED   BY   THE   KING    OF   SIAM.        509 

swamp.  But  by  great  effort  it  was  pushed 
clear  of  the  wheel  and  righted,  and  the  party, 
drenched  to  the  skin,  climbed  to  the  deck  of  the 
yacht.  It  would  have  been  a  sad  ending  to  his 
trip  if  the  General  had  been  drowned  in  the 
paltry  Bay  of  Siam. 

It  is  some  thirty  miles  up  the  river  to  Bang- 
kok, the  capital,  situated  on  the  River  Menam. 
This  stream  divides  the  city,  and  the  yacht  kept 
on  for  some  three  miles  or  more  between  the 
houses  that  lined  the  banks.  Some  of  these 
were  built  on  rafts  and  moored  to  the  shore, 
while  large  clumsy  boats,  paddled  by  half -naked 
natives,  were  moving  around  in  every  direction, 
giving  a  half -savage,  barbaric  look  to  everything. 
At  four  o'clock,  the  party  stepped  aboard  the 
royal  gondola,  and  were  rowed  to  shore,  where 
a  brilliant  retinue  were  in  waiting.  As  they 
mounted  the  landing-steps,  a  band  of  music 
struck  up  "Hail  Columbia,"  a  cavalry  escort 
wheeled  into  line,  and  soon  they  were  on  the 
way  to  the  palace  of  the  Prince,  set  apart  for 
their  accommodation,  and  standing  close  to  that 
of  the  King.  The  Prince  himself  met  them  at 
the  head  of  the  marble  stairway,  and  welcomed 
them.  Giving  his  arm  to  Mrs.  Grant,  he  led  the 
way  to  the  great  audience-chamber,  where  he 
made  a  little  speech,  and  gracefully  put  his  pal- 
ace and  all  it  contained  at  their  disposal.  In 


510  LIFE   OP  GEANT. 

the  evening  a  grand  dinner  was  given,  and  a 
programme  of  banquets,  fetes,  and  sight-seeing 
was  prepared  on  such  a  grand  scale  that  Grant 
was  quite  overwhelmed.  It  was  necessary  to 
cut  it  down  greatly,  as  he  said  that  he  must  re- 
turn to  Singapore  by  the  mail  steamer  which 
returned  on  Friday,  thus  giving  him  only  five 
days  to  Siam.  The  party  would  willingly  have 
made  the  time  still  shorter,  for  it  rained  inces- 
santly, forming  pools  in  the  courtyard,  and  beat- 
ing into  the  windows  of  the  palace. 

A  visit  was  made  in  a  gondola  to  the  regent, 
who  received  him  in  state,  the  band  playing  the 
"  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  the  first  time  Grant 
had  heard  it,  as  all  the  bands  of  other  countries 
thought  "  Hail  Columbia  "  was  our  national  air. 
It  was  said,  however,  that  the  General  did  not 
know  the  difference.  The  interview  was  quite 
lengthy,  as  was  that  also  with  the  second  King 
afterward.  Speeches  were  made  through  an  in- 
terpreter; and  compliments  and  kind  wishes 
for  the  prosperity  of  each  other's  country  ex- 
changed. 

But  the  reception  given  by  the  first  King,  the 
real  King,  which  came  last,  was  the  most  stately 
and  brilliant  of  all.  The  first  King  does  all  the 
governing,  and  the  second  simply  draws  his 
large  income. 

The  next  day  the  King  gave  Grant  and  his 


BANQUETTED   BY    STAMPS   KING.  511 

party  a  royal  dinner,  the  silver  service  of  which, 
ornamented  with  the  design  of  the  three-headed 
elephant,  is  said  to  have  cost  §50,000  in  England. 

The  King,  ia  a  complimentary  speech,  toasted 
Grant,  to  which  the  latter  replied  in  a  neat 
speech,  in  which  he  spoke  in  the  warmest  terms 
of  the  kind  reception  that  had  been  given  him, 
and  said  he  should  always  feel  a  deep  interest 
in  the  prosperity  of  Siam,  and  toasted  the  King. 

They  then  retired  to  the  audience-chamber, 
where  a  long  conversation  took  place  between 
Grant  and  the  King,  and  Mrs.  Grant  and  the 
Queen,  who  had  not  been  at  the  dinner-table, 
the  King  expressing  over  again  his  warm  admi- 
ration of  America,  and  the  great  pleasure  he  felt 
at  having  made  General  Grant's  acquaintance. 

One  of  the  principal  objects  worth  seeing 
here  is  the  great  pagoda,  two  hundred  feet  high, 
covered  all  over  with  glittering  ornaments,  while 
silver-toned  bells  are  hung  from  every  point  and 
angle,  that  are  set  ringing  by  the  wind,  till  the 
air  is  filled  with  the  soft,  mysterious  music. 

The  interior  is  bewildering,  with  the  wealth 
and  beauty  that  adorn  it  White  marble  col- 
umns, gilded  cornices,  pearly  gates — everything 
that  wealth  could  purchase  are  lavished  upon  it. 

But  Grant's  time  was  so  short  that  most  of  ifc 
was  taken  up  in  ceremonial  visits,  banquets,  etc., 
and  Siam  outside  of  Bangkok  was  left  unvisited 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Off  for  Hong-Kong—Received  with  a  Display  of  Fireworks — His 
Visit  to  the  Viceroy— Swatow — The  Governor's  Queer  Gift 
— Reception  on  Board  of  an  American  Man- of -War — Shang- 
hai— Imposing  Spectacle  as  Grant  Entered  the  Port — 
Fireworks  and  Torchlight  Procession — A  Brilliant  Spec- 
tacle— Peking — Interview  with  the  Prince  Regent — Inter- 
esting Discussions — Description  of  the  City — Last  Inter- 
view— Reception  at  Tien-Tsin — Long  Interview  with  the 
Viceroy  on  the  Chinese  Question  in  California — The  Loo- 
choo  Islands — A  Singular  Farewell  Dinner — A  Visit  to  the 
Chinese  Wall — Nagasaki — Reception — An  Extraordinary 
Dinner—Reception  at  Yeddo,  the  Capital—Japan — Life 
in  It. 

IN  the  last  of  April,  1879,  General  Grant  took 
the  steamer  Ashuelot  for  Canton,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  making  a  short  visit  to  China  and  Japan, 
before  returning  to  America.  The  real  port  of 
Canton  is  Hong-Kong,  ninety  miles  distant,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Pearl  River.  Here  the  forts 
saluted  him,  as  well  as  those  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  on  the  way  up. 

It  was  dark  when  he  reached  the  city,  but 
as  the  boat  steamed  to  her  anchorage  blue 
lights  and  rockets  arose  from  river  and  shore, 
and  variegated  fireworks  lighted  up  the  river 
and  shipping  and  the  thousands  of  up-turned 


OFF   FOR   HONG-KONG.  513 

faces  like  day,  while  the  thunder  of  cannon  made 
the  reception  a  right  royal  one.  General  Grant, 
the  next  day,  remained  at  the  Consul's  house  to 
receive  formal  calls,  while  the  rest  of  the  party 
strolled  through  the  streets  to  see  the  sights. 
He  called  on  the  Viceroy  the  following  day,  and 
was  received  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony, 
crowds  gathering  in  the  streets  to  see  the 
American  King,  as  the  advertising  cards  dis- 
tributed through  the  streets  called  him.  After 
the  first  introductions  were  over  the  Viceroy 
led  his  guest  into  another  room,  where  were 
tables  loaded  with  sweetmeats  and  fruits,  and 
cups  of  tea  and  wine.  As  a  special  compli- 
ment, the  Viceroy  helped  his  distinguished  guest 
with  his  own  delicate  ivory  chopsticks.  It 
was  a  wearisome  day  to  Grant,  and  he  was  glad 
to  get  back  to  the  consulate,  where  he  could 
enjoy  his  cigar  in  quietness.  The  few  days 
spent  here  were  mostly  taken  up  with  visits  of 
ceremony,  dinners,  etc.  He  then  steamed  back 
to  Hong-Kong,  where  more  honors  awaited  him, 
when  amid  a  salute  of  guns,  he  turned  north- 
ward. 

Reaching  Swatow  on  May  13th,  he  went 
ashore,  and  the  party  strolled  around  the  town 
for  an  hour,  and  then  returned  on  board.  The 
Governor  soon  after  called  on  him,  and  as  it 
was  the  custom,  he  said,  in  making  calls,  to 


514  LIFE   OF   GBAOT. 

bring  presents,  he  had  brought  along  a  live 
sheep,  six  live  chickens,  six  ducks,  and  four 
hams.  Grant  accepted  them  very  graciously, 
and  after  he  was  gone  turned  them  over  to  the 
servants,  which  gave  them  quite  a  feast.  The 
next  city  was  Amoy,  where  Grant  landed,  and 
after  spending  a  few  hours  returned  on  board 
to  attend  a  reception  given  him  by  the  American 
man-of-war  Bangor,  then  in  port,  and  which  was 
a  grand  affair.  Keeping  on,  on  the  17th  they 
steamed  into  the  port  of  Shanghai,  and  were 
welcomed  with  salutes  from  all  the  forts,  while 
every  vessel  fluttered  with  flags,  and  100,000 
Chinese  gathered  at  the  landing — not  shouting, 
like  an  American  crowd,  but  quiet  and  still  as 
at  a  funeral.  The  horses  of  the  carriage  that  was 
to  convey  him  to  the  consulate  became  fright- 
ened at  the  crowd  and  music,  and  refused  to  go, 
when  the  guard  seized  it  and  dragged  it  by 
hand,  amid  cheers,  to  the  house.  Two  days  after, 
a  torchlight  procession  and  illumination  was 
given  in  his  honor.  It  was  a  wonderful  affair, 
and  such  as  the  Chinese  alone  can  get  up. 
Variegated  lights  streamed  in  all  directions 
from  land  and  water,  till  the  whole  air  was 
ablaze  with  light,  while  fireworks  of  every  de- 
scription wove  such  a  fiery  net-work  over  the 
sky  that  it  seemed  a  dome  of  fire.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  sights  General  Grant 


SHANGHAI  SALtJTES   OKANT.  61 8 

had  ever  seen,  and  lie  rode  slowly  all  along  the 
shore  to  witness  it,  and  then  returned  to  the 
house,  to  review  the  brilliant  procession,  as  it 
inarched  by  with  lights  and  transparencies,  and 
bands  playing  our  national  airs. 

His  brief  visit  ended,  he  set  sail  for  Peking, 
the  capital  of  the  Empire.  Tien-tsin,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Pei-ho  River,  its  port,  is  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles  from  it  by  water,  though 
only  about  half  that  distance  by  land.  The 
stream  was  too  shallow  for  the  Ashuelot,  while 
there  was  no  way  to  travel  by  land  except  on 
horseback  or  in  ox-carts.  Mrs.  Grant  could 
not  go  by  either  way,  and  so  it  was  concluded 
to  take  boats.  A  mandarin  boat  was  given  to 
General  Grant,  smaller  ones  to  the  others,  and 
the  little  fleet  started  for  Peking — sometimes 
carried  sluggishly  forward  by  the  wind,  some- 
times towed  from  the  shore  with  a  rope,  and 
sometimes  poled  along.  They  made  their 
slow  way  inland  through  fields  of  rice,  green 
meadows  and  orchards,  sleeping  in  their  cages 
at  night.  Grant,  for  a  change,  would  occasion- 
ally go  ashore  and  take  a  stretch  through  the 
meadows  across  some  wide  bend. 

On  the  third  day  they  reached  the  village  of 
Tung-chaw,  where  the  water  journey  ended. 
The  Prince  Regent  had  sent  down  to  this  point 
chairs  and  horses  and  donkeys,  both  for  the 


516  MFE  Otf  GRANT. 

party  and  the  baggage.  Grant  was  carried  in 
an  imperial  chair  by  eight  bearers.  Moving  for- 
ward at  a  snail's  pace,  it  was  five  hours  before 
the  walls  of  Peking  rose  in  sight.  Met  at  the 
gate  by  a  new  escort  that  kicked  up  a  terrible 
dust  in  their  faces,  they  were  conducted  through 
an  immense  and  gaping  crowd  to  the  house  of 
the  American  Minister,  where  a  cool  and  quiet 
room  awaited  Grant,  much  to  his  relief  and 
delight.  The  Prince  Regent  sent  his  card,  and 
said  that  his  Imperial  Highness  had  directed 
him  to  present  his  kind  wishes  and  bid  him 
welcome  to  China.  This  Imperial  Highness,  who 
was  so  royally  complaisant  was  a  child  only 
seven  years  old.  Grant  declined  the  honor  of 
being  presented  to  a  mere  boy,  as  he  termed 
him,  but  called  on  the  Prince  Regent  the  next 
day,  and  was  ushered  into  a  plainly  furnished 
room,  where  was  a  table  loaded  with  food. 
There  can  be  no  display  in  China  without  eat- 
ing. Seeing  that  Colonel  Grant  had  on  a  uni- 
form and  his  father  none,  he  inquired  his  rank, 
and  then  politely  asked  him  if  he  were  married 
and  had  children.  Being  answered  in  the  af- 
firmative, and  that  he  had  one  child,  a  daughter, 
he  replied :  "  What  a  pity  !  " — Girls  are  at  a 
discount  in  China. 

It  was  a  long  interview,  in  which  the  condi- 
tion of  the  country,  its  material  prosperity,  the 


IN  PEKING  WITH  THE  PRINCE  REGENT*   51 7 

development  of  its  resources,  etc.,  were  discussed. 
General  Grant  saying  everything  he  could  in 
favor  of  a  different  policy  in  the  empire,  in 
opening  it  to  foreign  countries,  as  well  as 
making  an  advance  toward  modern  civiliza- 
tion. 

Before  the  dinner  was  finished,  Grant  took 
his  leave,  to  visit  the  English  College  for  the 
Chinese  Youth.  It  is  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Martin,  an  American.  One  of  the  students 
read  him  quite  an  address  in  English,  made  up 
chiefly  of  eulogies. 

The  Prince  promptly  returned  the  call  of 
Grant,  and  another  long  conversation  took  place 
between  them,  and  finally  the  former  touched 
on  the  subject  of  the  Loochoo  Islands,  over 
which  both  China  and  Japan  claimed  sover- 
eignty, and  asked  if  he  would  be  willing  to  aid 
by  his  counsel  and  advice  in  a  settlement  of 
the  difficulty,  which  threatened  to  end  in  war. 
After  a  full  discussion  of  the  matter,  the  latter 
replied,  that,  as  he  was  going  to  Japan  as  the 
guest  of  the  Emperor,  he  would  do  everything 
in  his  power  to  bring  about  a  peaceable  adjust- 
ment, adding  that  great  concessions  should  be 
made  before  resorting  to  hostilities,  as  war 
should  always  be  avoided,  if  possible,  as  a  great 
evil.  There  is  very  little  to  be  seen  in  Peking 
but  the  city  itself,  and  the  queer  costumes  and 


518  LIFE   OF   GKAOT. 

manners  of  the  country  that  dates  back  almost 
to  the  flood.  The  city  is  divided  into  two  parts, 
the  Chinese  and  Tartaiyboth  enclosed  in  a  wall, 
that  of  the  latter  being  very  high,  and  so  broad 
at  the  top  that  twelve  horsemen  can  ride  abreast 
on  it.  The  two  form  a  square  eighteen  miles 
in  circumference.  The  streets  through  it  are 
straight,  and  three  miles  long  from  wall  to  wall, 
the  principal  one  being  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  wide,  and  lined  with  shops  that,  with  their 
Oriental  stuffs  and  knick-knacks,  present  a  gay 
appearance.  The  houses,  however,  are  low  and 
unpretentious.  One  thing  especially  struck  the 
traveller,  and  that  was  the  vast  and  never-end- 
ing throng  of  people  that  crowded  through  the 
streets. 

In  their  last  interview,  Grant  thanked  the 
Prince  for  the  presents  he  had  sent  Mrs. 
Grant.  The  latter  replied  he  was  sorry  they 
were  not  more  worthy  of  her  acceptance,  but  he 
was  unwilling  they  should  leave  China  without 
carrying  back  one  or  two  souvenirs  of  his 
country.  This  was  a  long  interview,  and  at  its 
close  the  Prince  took  a  glass  of  champagne, 
telling  the  interpreter  to  express  to  General 
Grant  the  pleasure  his  visit  had  given  him,  and 
to  say  that  he  wished  to  drink  his  health  and 
wish  him  a  prosperous  voyage.  The  General  re- 
sponded, and  leading  his  august  friend  to  the 


P&feSENTS    AND    DINNER   TO    MfcS.  GRANT.    519 

door,  bade  him  adieu,  when  he  stepped  into  his 
chair  and  departed. 

Grant  now  started  back  for  Tien-tsin,  where 
he  was  received  by  the  Viceroy  with  a  small 
army,  with  banners  and  gongs  and  drums  and 
great  display.  In  the  interview  that  followed, 
the  Viceroy  entered  at  once  on  the  Chinese 
question  in  California.  This  was  discussed  at 
great  length,  and  then  the  difficulty  respecting 
the  Loochoo  Islands  was  taken  up  and  gone 
over  again.  At  the  close  of  the  interview,  the 
Viceroy  expressed  the  hope  that  he  would  again 
be  President,  to  which  the  latter  replied  that 
he  had  no  such  desire  or  expectation. 

The  Richmond,  that  had  been  so  long  ex- 
pected, having  now  arrived  off  the  Pei-ho  River, 
Grant  prepared  to  take  his  departure. 

But  a  farewell  dinner  must  first  be  given. 
A  remarkable  thing  was  connected  with  this — 
a  more  remarkable  one,  perhaps,  could  hardly 
have  occurred  in  China.  This  dinner  was  given 
to  Mrs.  Grant,  to  which  the  ladies  of  the  Ameri- 
cans in  the  place  were  invited.  These  ladies 
had  lived  here  for  years,  and  had  never  seen  the 
Viceroy's  wife,  nor  him  either,  except  through  the 
blinds  of  the  window  of  his  chair.  This  terrible 
innovation  in  the  customs  of  China  was  the  talk 
of  the  city,  and  thirty  years  ago  no  Viceroy  in 
the  empire  would  have  dared  to  be  guilty  of  it. 


520  LIFE   OF    GRAM. 

It  came  off,  however,  without  incident,  and 
when  the  ladies  returned  at  eleven  o'clock  at 
night  Grant  went  on  board  the  steamer,  and  the 
next  morning  was  conveyed  to  the  Richmond. 
The  Viceroy  went  out  in  his  yacht,  accompanied 
by  a  fleet  of  gunboats,  to  bid  him  good-by.  As 
he  came  aboard,  the  vessels'  yards  were  manned, 
and  the  national  salute  was  fired.  He  remained 
in  close  conversation  with  Grant  for  an  hour, 
the  latter  urging  on  him  still  more  earnestly  the 
enlightened  policy  he  had  before  recommended 
to  Prince  Klang. 

The  partings  over,  amid  the  roar  of  cannon 
the  steamer  turned  her  prow  northward.  Gen- 
eral Grant  wishing  to  see  the  great  wall  of 
China,  the  steamer  sailed  along  the  coast  till 
the  officers,  through  their  glasses,  caught  sight 
of  the  end  of  it  where  it  descended,  a  black 
line,  into  the  sea.  Landing  in  a  boat,  they  ex- 
amined this  ruined  structure,  built  of  stone  and 
brick  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago — 1,500 
miles  long,  30  feet  high,  and  15  feet  broad  on 
the  top.  The  main  interest  attached  to  it  is 
its  antiquity.  Strange  thoughts  arise  in  the 
mind  of  one  as  he  looks  on  its  zigzag  line  and 
thinks  that  hundreds  of  years  before  Christ 
was  born  millions  of  men  were  toiling  on  it, 
carrying  it  over  steep  mountains,  across  deep 
valleys  and  rapid  streams,  fondly  believing  they 


SEES    THE    GREAT    WALL    OP    CHIKA.          521 

were  erecting  a  barrier  that  for  all  time  the  rash 
invader  would  dash  against  in  vain,  little  dream- 
ing the  day  would  come  when  it  would  be  as 
worthless  as  a  pasteboard  fence. 

There  is  a  little  village  close  by  where  it  dips 
into  the  sea,  filled  with  beggars,  and  where  the 
people  were  grinding  corn  just  as  they  did  more 
than  two  thousand  years  ago.  After  strolling 
awhile  through  it,  carried  back  by  the  costumes 
and  occupations  to  the  dim,  far-ofE  ages,  they 
returned  on  board  ship.  Steaming  away,  they 
next  morning  entered  the  port  of  Chefoo,  noted 
chiefly  as  a  resort  for  invalids,  on  account  of  its 
pure  and  healthy  breezes.  Landing  here,  Gen- 
eral Grant  wandered  about  the  place,  noting 
the  people  and  their  habits,  until  midnight, 
when  he  returned  on  board  ship,  which  bore 
away  toward  Japan,  and  on  June  21st  entered 
the  port  of  Nagasaki,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
in  the  world,  and  was  received  with  those  dis- 
plays and  ceremonies  accorded  him  at  every 
place. 

Two  days  after,  the  merchants  gave  him  an  old- 
fashioned  dinner,  as  in  the  time  of  the  Daimios, 
in  an  old  temple  in  the  city.  The  bill  of  fare 
was  something  wonderful,  consisting  of  fifty 
courses,  the  first  course  alone  containing  over 
twenty  different  dishes.  It  took  four  hours  to 
finish  this,  when  the  capacity  for  more  storage 


522  UFE   OF   GRAKT. 

seemed  exhausted,  and  a  rest  was  taken,  and 
a  band  of  female  musicians  and  dancing  girls 
came  in  and  entertained  them  for  awhile  The 
respite  over,  they  went  at  this  astonishing  feast 
again,  and  kept  it  up  for  several  hours,  till  one 
wondered  at  the  capacity  of  the  human  stom- 
ach, but  not  that  the  cholera  was  raging  in  the 
country. 

Grant  could  not  stand  it,  and  quietly  with- 
drew, and  went  out  on  the  hill-side  to  smoke  his 
cigar  and  gaze  on  the  bonfires  blazing  below  in 
his  honor.  The  chief  visit,  however,  in  Japan 
was  to  be  made  to  Yeddo,  the  capital. 

It  was  a  warm  July  day  when  the  steamer 
entered  the  bay  of  Yokohama,  about  twenty 
miles  distant  from  Yeddo,  the  residence  of  the 
King.  A  Japanese  convoy  led  the  way,  and  the 
Richmond  steamed  slowly  forward,  amid  flut- 
tering flags  and  the  incessant  roar  of  guns. 
Officials  in  brilliant  uniforms  came  on  board 
to  welcome  the  distinguished  guest.  After  re- 
ceiving them  formally,  Grant  descended  to  the 
barge  amid  a  general  salute,  and  was  rowed 
slowly  away  to  the  landing,  passing  the  various 
ships  in  the  harbor,  with  all  their  flags  flying, 
taking  off  his  hat  as  each  thundered  its  salute 
over  the  water,  while  bands  of  music  struck  up 
our  national  airs.  The  yards  of  each  were 
manned,  and  cheer  after  cheer  rose  out  of  the 


AT  YOKOHAMA  AND  TEBDO.       523 

smoke  that  curled  up  around  their  stately  hulls 
and  rolled  away  over  the  bay.  It  was  twelve 
o'clock  when  he  landed.  The  princes  and  minis- 
ters of  the  empire  were  awaiting  him,  among 
others  Iwakura,  who,  having  known  General 
Grant  when  President,  received  him  like  an  old 
acquaintance. 

It  took  about  an  hour  on  the  railroad  to  reach 
Tokio,  or  Yeddo,  where  a  great  crowd  had  as- 
sembled, and  also  a  citizens'  committee,  that,  of 
course,  had  to  read  a  long  and  complimentary 
address  of  welcome,  to  which  Grant,  as  usual, 
n;ade  a  brief  response.  It  had  been  arranged  by 
the  Japanese  Emperor  that  the  reception  of  his 
guest  should  take  place  on  July  4th,  as  a  special 
compliment,  and  so  he  was  driven  to  the  Em- 
peror's summer  palace  of  Eurio  Kwan,  which 
had  been  put  in  readiness  for  his  reception. 

The  next  day,  the  Fourth,  driving  through 
the  city  gates  and  the  Daimio's  quarters,  Gen- 
eral Grant  came  to  the  palace,  on  the  steps  of 
which  Iwakura  was  standing  to  receive  him, 
The  royal  palace  had  none  of  the  magnificence 
of  those  generally  in  the  East,  but  was  a 
modest  two-story  building,  more  like  the  house 
of  a  wealthy  American  gentleman  than  a  royal 
residence.  It  was  furnished  in  the  same  simple 
and  tasteful  manner.  Grant  with  his  party 
were  escorted  through  a  short  passage  to 


524  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

another  room,  where  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
stood  awaiting  them,  with  two  princes  beside 
them,  and  two  ladies  in  a  crouching  attitude  near. 
The  Emperor,  a  young,  spare  man,  with  black 
hair  and  beard  and  a  piercing  black  eye,  stood 
perfectly  motionless,  looking  intently  on  Gen- 
eral Grant  as  he  slowly  advanced  toward 
him.  He  then  stepped  forward,  and  did 
what  had  never  before  been  seen  in  Japan, 
reached  out  his  arm  and  shook  hands  with 
him.  This  seems  a  trifling  matter,  yet,  as  an 
innovation  of  Japanese  etiquette  and  customs, 
it  spoke  volumes,  and  was  indeed  the  highest 
compliment  he  could  pay  the  American  sol- 
dier. It  is  true,  not  being  accustomed  to  that 
every -day  performance  of  the  General,  he  did 
it  rather  awkwardly.  Our  Minister,  Mr.  Bing- 
ham,  then  advanced,  who  received  simply  a 
slight  nod  of  recognition.  The  General  and  his 
wife  were  then  presented  to  the  princesses, 
while  the  Emperor  stood  with  his  hand  resting 
upon  his  sword,  as  if  unconscious  of  the  brill- 
iant group  before  him.  A  nobleman  now  ad- 
vanced, and  read  in  English  the  Emperor's  ad- 
dress of  welcome,  in  which  he  simply  expressed 
his  pleasure  at  seeing  him,  and  thanked  him  for 
his  kindness  to  the  Japanese  ambassador  when 
he  was  in  the  United  States,  and  expressed  the 
wish  that  his  visit  would  be  a  pleasant  one. 


THE   EMPEROR    AND    EMPRESS    OF   JAPAN.    525 

Grant  in  reply  returned  his  thanks,  and  said 
that  his  country  reciprocated  the  kind  feelings 
of  Japan  toward  it,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in 
everything  that  concerned  her  welfare.  This 
was  followed  by  a  welcome  to  Mrs.  Grant  by 
the  Empress,  to  which  the  former  replied :  "  I 
thank  you  very  much.  I  have  visited  many 
countries,  and  have  seen  many  beautiful  places, 
but  I  have  seen  none  so  beautiful  or  so  charm- 
ing as  Japan."  This  closed  the  ceremonies,  and 
Grant  and  his  party  retired.  The  rest  of  the 
day  was  spent  in  receiving  calls.  In  the 
evening  they  attended  a  party,  given  in  one  of 
the  summer  gardens  by  the  American  residents 
of  the  city.  They  were  received  by  Mr.  Bing- 
ham  in  quite  a  lengthy  address,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  one  from  the  General,  in  which  he 
disavowed  the  exclusive  praise  bestowed  upon 
him  for  his  great  military  services,  and  said  it 
should  be  distributed  to  every  brave  soldier  in 
the  war.  There  were  other  speeches  and  toasts, 
and  fireworks,  which  made  it  seem  quite  like  a 
Fourth  of  July  at  home. 

The  7th  was  set  apart  for  a  review  of 
the  Japanese  army,  of  which  the  Emperor  is 
very  proud.  As  General  Grant,  escorted  by 
the  cavalry  formed  in  a  hollow  square,  drove 
onto  the  field,  the  bands  struck  up  "  Hail  Co- 
lumbia," and  the  soldiers  presented  arms.  En- 


526  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

tering  two  tents  prepared  for  him  and  his  party, 
he  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  Emperor.  Soon 
the  pealing  of  trumpets,  followed  by  the  bands 
striking  up  the  national  air,  announced  his 
coming.  As  the  Emperor  approached  the  tent 
in  which  was  General  Grant,  the  latter  ad- 
vanced to  the  steps  of  the  carriage  and  shook 
hands  with  him.  The  review  followed,  and 
when  it  was  over  Grant  and  his  party  drove 
ofE  to  the  Shilo  palace  to  dine  with  the  Emperor. 
At  the  dinner  the  Emperor  conversed  a  great 
deal  with  General  Grant,  and  expressed  a  wish 
to  have  a  private  interview  with  him,  when 
they  could  converse  more  freely.  After  dinner 
they  sat  and  looked  out  on  the  charming  view 
that  spread  away  before  them,  drinking  in 
the  refreshing  breezes  that  stole  in  from  the 
sea,  and  smoking  their  cigars.  The  palace  set 
apart  for  General  Grant  was  on  an  island,  sur- 
rounded with  extensive  grounds  laid  out  and 
decked  in  Oriental  beauty.  On  the  veranda  of 
this  charming  retreat,  Grant  was  accustomed, 
while  he  staid,  to  sit  almost  every  evening,  look- 
ing off  on  the  quiet  scene  spread  out  before  him, 
smoking  his  cigar,  and  conversing  with  his  fam- 
ily and  friends.  It  was  too  hot  to  go  out  much 
during  the  day,  and  he  usually  remained  at 
home  receiving  calls,  visits  of  ceremony,  etc. 
Servants  and  guards  were  everywhere,  and 


BINES    WITH   THE   EMPEROR.  527 

scarcely  an  hour  passed  in  which  the  sound  of 
a  trumpet  did  not  announce  some  distinguished 
visitor.  The  ladies  sometimes  in  the  afternoon 
would  stroll  through  the  streets  of  Tokio,  look- 
ing at  the  shops  and  buying  various  curiosities 
to  take  home  with  them.  The  cholera  was  in 
the  country,  which  kept  them  very  quiet.  More 
than  a  month  was  thus  passed  in  idleness  and 
luxurious  repose.  On  August  10th  the  private 
interview  that  the  Emperor  had  requested  took 
place,  in  a  little  summer-house  in  the  grounds 
of  the  palace  that  Grant  occupied.  It  was  car- 
ried on  through  an  interpreter,  and  was  a  very 
lengthy  one.  Many  topics  were  discussed,  among 
them  the  British  policy  in  the  East,  and  national 
indebtedness,  which  Grant  impressed  on  the  Em- 
peror he  should  carefully  avoid,  giving  Egypt 
as  an  example.  He  brought  up  also  the  ques- 
tion of  the  Loochoo  Islands,  as  he  had  promised 
while  in  China  he  would  do.  He  spoke  long 
and  earnestly  on  this  subject,  and  warned  him 
against  the  counsels  of  foreign  powers  that 
would  bring  on  a  war  which  they  would  turn  to 
their  own  benefit.  He  also  spoke  of  the  educa- 
tional system  of  Japan.  In  short,  he  gave  the 
young  Emperor  sound  and  statesman-like  advice. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  give  only  the  general 
drift  of  the  conversation  that  took  place  in  an 
interview  that  lasted  two  hours.  The  result 


528  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

showed  that  it  bore  good  fruits.  The  advice, 
which  impressed  the  Emperor  the  more  deeply 
from  the  earnest  tone  and  manner  in  which  it 
was  urged,  was  to  beware  of  the  intrigues  of 
foreign  powers,  that  curse  of  the  East. 

But  this  delightful  sojourn  and  rest  drew  to 
a  close,  and  Grant,  not  wishing  to  return  home 
at  present,  cast  about  for  the  next  country  to 
visit.  Various  routes  were  suggested,  but  they 
were  one  by  one  abandoned,  and  it  was  at  last 
resolved  to  turn  their  footsteps  homeward.  Then 
there  was  a  deal  of  packing  up  to  do,  for  what 
with  purchases  and  presents  they  had  a  small 
ship-load  of  curious  and  costly  things. 

It  was  on  Saturday  that  General  Grant  went 
to  the  Emperor's  palace  to  bid  him  adieu.  This 
he  did  in  a  formal  and  for  him  quite  a  lengthy 
speech.  In  the  evening  princes  and  high  offi- 
cials and  naval  officers  and  Americans  came  in 
crowds  to  bid  him  good-by,  making  a  brilliant 
reception.  Monday  they  went  to  Yokohama. 
Here  all  the  ceremonies  that  took  place  on 
Grant's  arrival  were  renewed  at  his  departure. 
Committees  of  citizens,  military  escorts,  bands 
of  music,  day  fireworks,  brilliant  displays  of 
flags,  and  gatherings  of  friends  made  it  a  day 
long  to  be  remembered  by  the  people  of  Yoko- 
hama. But  the  last  hour  came,  and  General 
Grant  and  his  party  stepped  into  the  barge 


DEPARTURE  #ROM  JAPAK.        529 

and  were  rowed  to  the  steamer  Tokio.  Soon 
the  last  farewell  was  said,  the  last  friend 
stepped  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  the  last  line 
was  thrown  off,  and  as  the  crew  of  the  Rich- 
mond manned  the  yards,  and  the  ship  thun- 
dered forth  her  salute,  the  Tokio  slowly  passed 
down  the  bay,  and  the  masts  of  the  vessels  and 
walls  of  the  town  gradually  faded  away  from  the 
eyes  of  those  on  deck,  and  soon  the  good  ship, 
under  full  headway,  was  ploughing  the  waters  of 
the  Pacific,  and  the  most  remarkable  visit  ever 
made,  and  probably  ever  will  be  made,  by  an 
American  to  the  Old  World,  was  ended.  The 
brilliant  round  of  receptions  by  kings,  emperors, 
and  citizens  for  the  last  two  years  and  more 
were  now  things  of  the  past,  and  the  little  party 
would  sit  on  deck  with  nothing  but  the  wide 
ocean  around  them  and  talk  them  over.  But 
another  and  grander  ovation  than  all  was  await- 
ing General  Grant  when  his  feet  should  once 
more  press  the  soil  of  his  native  land,  for  it  was 
to  be  given  not  merely  to  the  representative  of 
his  government,  nor  as  a  compliment  to  the  man 
and  his  deeds,  or  as  tokens  of  mere  admiration, 
but  to  the  saviour  of  his  country,  and  be  the 
spontaneous  outpouring  of  a  nation's  gratitude 
and  love.  The  news  of  the  day  of  his  depart- 
ure from  Yokohama  had  been  received.  The 
telegraph-wires  had  flashed  it  down  the  coast 
34 


530  LIFE   0 

of  China  and  India,  through  the  depths  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  to  Africa,  along  the  bottom  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  through  Europe  to  Liv- 
erpool, under  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  to  New 
York,  and  across  the  continent  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  it  fell  like  an  electric  spark  on  the 
hearts  of  the  people  of  the  Pacific  coast,  and 
the  most  elaborate  preparations  at  once  were 
set  on  foot  to  receive  their  illustrious  fellow- 
citizen. 


CHAPTER   XXXHL 

Waiting  for  the  Toldo— Great  Excitement  as  the  Smoke  of  the 
Steamer  is  Sighted — Enthusiasm  of  the  People — The  Pro- 
cession— Public  Reception  at  the  Mayor's  Office — Visits  the 
Forts  of  the  Harbor— Trip  to  Oakland— To  Santa  Clara— 
Reception  by  School-Children — Visits  the  Yosemite  Valley 
—A  Trip  to  Portland— Visits  Sacramento— Starts  East- 
Lake  Taheo— Summit — Capital  of  Nevada — A  Visit  to  the 
Famous  Consolidated  Virginia  Mine — Enters  the  Tunnel 
— Grant  Reproves  a  Man  for  His  Profanity — At  Sidney — At 
Omaha — At  Home  in  Galena — Reception  at  Chicago — A 
Great  Day — Banquets — Addresses  afterward. 

THE  steamer  was  expected  about  the  middle 
of  September,  but  she  was  a  little  behind  time, 
hence  for  three  days  flags  and  decorations  had 
lined  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  everything  was 
kept  on  the  tiptoe  of  expectation.  Saturday 
morning  at  last  dawned,  yet  no  Tokio  was  in 
sight,  and  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  recep- 
tion assembled  in  the  afternoon  to  deliberate 
about  the  propriety  of  putting  off  the  demon- 
stration till  Monday,  should  the  steamer  not 
arrive  till  evening.  In  the  meantime  every 
hill -top  and  high  point  commanding  a  view  of 
the  ocean  was  covered  with  people  straining 
their  eyes  seaward.  At  length,  about  half -past 
three,  a  black  column  of  smoke,  bending  like  a 


532  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

plume,  was  outlined  against  the  western  sky. 
Immediately  the  shout,  "  The  Tokio  has  come  ! 
The  Tokio  has  come ! "  ran  from  lip  to  lip.  The 
telegraph  and  telephones  sent  the  news  flying 
through  the  city,  while  the  bell  on  the  Merchants' 
Exchange  sent  forth  its  loud  clang.  Bells  in 
every  direction  answered  it,  the  steam  whistles 
swelled  the  uproar,  and  the  population  poured 
forth  into  the  streets,  swarmed  up  the  heights  and 
along  the  city  wall,  and  hung  in  crowds  around 
every  point  that  commanded  a  view  of  the  ocean. 
Steadily  the  unconscious  steamer  bore  down  on 
the  coast,  till  her  huge  hull  rose  completely  into 
view.  It  was  two  hours  after  the  smoke  from  her 
smoke-stacks  was  seen  above  the  horizon  before 
she  neared  the  port.  At  half -past  five  the  boom- 
ing of  a  gun  near  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  came 
rolling  up  the  bay,  followed  by  another  and  an- 
other till  every  fort  was  thundering  forth  its 
salute,  wreathing  the  surface  of  the  bay  with 
such  a  cloud  of  white  smoke  that  for  a  while  it 
shut  out  the  steamer  from  view. 

The  reception  committee  had  already  taken  a 
tug  and  stood  out  to  sea  to  welcome  the  Tokio. 
A  little  later  the  committee  of  arrangements, 
with  thousands  of  citizens,  boarded  the  Pacific 
Mail  steamer  China,  and  steamed  down  the  bay. 
The  sun  was  stooping  to  the  western  horizon, 
heavy  mists  were  gathering  on  the  surrounding 


WELCOMED  BACK  TO  SAN  FRANCISCO.   533 

mountains  and  heights,  and  night  was  fast  com- 
ing on,  when  at  last  the  huge  hull  of  the  vessel 
loomed  out  of  the  smoke  of  the  guns  and  ap- 
proached the  wharf.  The  population  gathered 
on  the  heights  and  roofs  of  houses  had  poured 
down  to  meet  it,  and  cheers  louder  than  the 
thunder  of  the  guns  shook  the  water. 

It  was  seven  o'clock  when  General  Grant 
landed  from  the  ferry-boat  Oakland.  As  he 
stepped  ashore  he  was  met  by  the  committee, 
and  introduced  to  Mayor  Bryant,  who  welcomed 
him  in  a  speech  of  some  length,  to  which  Gen- 
eral Grant  simply  replied  :  "  Mayor  Bryant,  I 
thank  you  and  the  city  of  San  Francisco  for 
this  cordial  welcome,  and  I  feel  great  pleasure 
in  returning  to  California  after  a  quarter  of  a 
century's  absence."  He  was  then  escorted  to  a 
carriage,  where  he  was  compelled  to  wait  for  an 
hour  before  the  procession  began  to  move.  This 
was  composed  of  an  immense  multitude,  and  as 
the  electric  lights  flashed  down  on  it,  making 
everything  light  as  day,  it  seemed  that  the  en- 
tire population  of  the  city  was  in  the  streets. 
Beneath  archways  of  flags,  through"  parallel 
rows  of  festoons  and  draperies,  it  moved  up 
Market  Street  to  Montgomery,  thence  to  Mont- 
gomery Avenue  and  back  to  Market  Street,  then 
countermarched  to  New  Montgomery  Street,  fol- 
lowed by  cheers  that  rolled  in  a  continuous  wave 


534  LIFE    OF    GBANT. 

through  the  streets,  and  finally  drew  up  to  the 
Palace  Hotel,  in  New  Montgomery  Street,  pass- 
ing, in  so  doing,  under  a  lofty  arch  hung  with 
the  national  colors,  and  bearing  the  inscription, 
"  Welcome  to  General  Grant."  Here  the  car- 
riage of  the  General  drew  up  and  he  reviewed 
the  mighty  procession,  as  it  slowly  marched 
past,  rending  the  heavens  with  their  shouts. 
As  he  alighted  from  the  carriage  and  entered 

o  o 

the  hotel,  the  shouting  crowd  surged  after  him, 
while  a  chorus  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  voices 
serenaded  him  from  one  of  the  balconies. 

In  answer  to  the  loud  and  repeated  calls  of 
the  multitude,  he  appeared  on  the  balcony  of 
the  fourth  floor,  and  bowed  to  them,  and  then 
retired.  Still  the  enthusiastic  populace  would 
not  leave,  and  the  mayor,  to  quiet  them,  ap- 
peared, and  told  them  that  as  soon  as  General 
Grant  had  finished  his  dinner  he  would  show 
himself.  He  did  so,  and  was  received  with 
deafening  applause.  Mounting  a  chair  which 
the  mayor  passed  over  the  heads  of  the  crowd, 
he  said,  as  soon  as  the  shouts  would  allow  him 
to  be  heard  : 

"  Fellow- Citizens  of  San  Francisco — After 
twenty-five  years  of  absence  I  am  glad  to  meet 
you,  and  assure  you  of  my  cordial  thanks  for 
the  kind  greeting  you  have  given  me.  I  shall 
stay  in  your  city  to  greet  you  more  fully." 


THE    CHINESE    WELCOME   HIM.  535 

Amid  the  long  and  tremendous  cheering  that 
followed,  he  escaped  to  his  room,  and  the  pag- 
eant was  over.  Although  the  next  day  (Sun- 
day) was  a  day  of  rest,  and  he  kept  almost  en- 
tirely to  his  room,  yet  from  the  multitude  of 
callers  he  was  compelled  to  hold  a  sort  of  levee. 
Two  days  after  he  held  a  reception  in  the 
mayor's  room.  The  hour  was  fixed  at  one 
o'clock,  but  long  before  that  time  an  immense 
crowd  was  gathered  in  front  of  the  building, 
and  blocked  all  the  streets  leading  to  it.  At 
ten. minutes  before  one  the  booming  of  cannon 
announced  his  approach,  and  as  soon  as  he  ap- 
peared the  mighty  throng  broke  out  into  long 
and  deafening  applause.  A  short  time  after 
Mrs.  Grant  arrived,  and  took  her  position  in  a 
room  assigned  to  the  ladies.  Before  the  recep- 
tion began,  an  address  to  General  Grant  by  the 
Chinese  of  the  city,  through  their  representa- 
tives, was  presented.  To  this  was  added  by 
the  dignitaries  :  u  To  General  Grant — We  join 
our  voices  to  prolong  the  paean  which  has 
girdled  the  earth  and  wafted  over  seas  and 
continents.  Praises  to  the  warrior  and  states- 
man ! — Most  graciously  presented  by  the  Chinese 
of  California."  To  which  the  General  briefly 
responded,  speaking  warmly  of  the  kindness 
and  hospitality  he  received  in  China,  and  ex- 
pressing his  interest  in  her  future  development. 


536  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

The  multitude  were  then  admitted,  and  poured 
in  one  dense  throng  through  the  room,  shaking 
hands  with  him  as  they  passed  on.  He  visited 
the  Produce  Exchange  on  the  24th,  and  after- 
ward was  taken  by  General  McDowell  in  a  tug 
to  the  various  forts  around  the  harbor. 

The  next  day,  in  response  to  an  invitation 
from  the  authorities  of  Oakland,  he  visited  that 
city,  and  was  received  with  a  display  almost 
equal  to  that  made  at  San  Francisco.  A  large 
procession,  with  banners  and  devices,  escorted 
him  through  the  streets.  A  grand  banquet 
followed,  at  which  Grant  made  a  short  speech, 
and  then  was  driven  to  the  station  to  take  the 
return  train  to  San  Francisco.  An  immense 
crowd  was  gathered  there  to  see  him  off;  while 
waiting  a  few  minutes,  some  ladies  passed  for- 
ward to  greet  him,  and  among  them  a  little 
girl,  who  showed  so  much  eagerness  to  get  a 
glimpse  of  him,  that  she  was  caught  up  and 
passed,  with  shouts,  over  the  heads  of  the 
crowd  till  she  reached  General  Grant.  The 
latter  took  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her,  at 
which  the  multitude  broke  forth  in  deafening 
cheers.  He  visited  also  the  annual  fair  at 
Santa  Clara.  A  pleasing  incident  of  his  short 
stay  in  that  city  was  a  reception  of  the  children 
of  the  public  schools  at  Woodward's,  some 
twenty  thousand  in  number. 


VISITS    SEVERAL    CITIES.  537 

On  the  30th  he  and  his  party  started  for  the 
Yosemite  Valley.  Halting  a  short  time  at 
Stockton,  where  a  procession  met  him,  he  finally 
reached  the  valley  on  October  3d.  As  he 
stood  in  that  wondrous  valley,  surrounded  by 
those  gigantic  forms  of  nature  that  hem  it  in,  he 
felt  a  wonder  and  awe  that  all  the  mighty  ruins 
of  the  Old  World  could  not  produce.  Re- 
turning to  San  Francisco,  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  Board  of  Trade  gave  him  a  reception. 
He  then  took  a  steamer  for  Portland,  Ore., 
where  he  arrived  on  the  13th,  and  was  received 
as  usual  with  a  great  demonstration  by  the 
people.  He  visited  some  of  the  adjoining  towns, 
but  on  the  21st  was  back  again  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. After  visiting  the  naval  station  at  Mare 
Island,  he  made  a  flying  trip  to  Sacramento  at 
the  invitation  of  the  authorities,  and  remained 
there  receiving  the  hospitalities  of  the  city  till 
the  26th,  when  he  returned  to  San  Francisco. 
At  length,  his  visit  being  ended,  he  took  the 
train  for  Nevada,  and  was  soon  climbing  the 
slopes  of  the  mountains  on  his  way  to  the  east. 
He  reached  Truckee  Station  at  noon  the  next 
day,  and  after  visiting  Lake  Tahoe  and  viewing 
the  scenery,  he  slowly  climbed  by  rail  to  Sum- 
mit— only  three  miles  distant  in  a  straight  line, 
but  nine  by  the  railroad  that  creeps  like  a  snake 
up  the  steep  ascent — feasting  his  eyes  at  every 


538  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

turn  on  the  magnificent  views  that  spread  out 
below  him.  Here  carriages  were  in  waiting, 
the  one  designed  for  General  Grant  being  drawn 
by  four  gray  horses,  and  driven  by  the  famous 
Hank  Monk  As  they  wheeled  into  the  capital 
of  Nevada,  guns,  and  whistles,  and  everything 
that  could  make  a  noise  were  set  going,  while 
the  air  rung  with  the  vigorous  cheers  of  those 
mountain  dwellers.  On  the  28th  the  party 
visited  the  famous  Consolidated  Virginia  mine, 
and  in  passing  through  the  assay  office  Mrs. 
Grant  was  presented  with  a  solid  brick  of  gold 
and  silver.  They  visited  the  tunnel,  and  went 
clad  in  miners'  dresses  through  the  dark  cham- 
bers, where  the  workmen  were  delving  for  the 
precious  ore. 

The  journey  east  was  a  continual  ovation. 
At  Sidney  the  immense  crowd  assembled  cheered 
him  loudly.  One  of  the  number,  evidently  half 
drunk,  having  coupled  nis  shout  for  Grant  with 
an  oath,  the  latter  quietly  said,  "  You  should 
never  swear.  It  has  been  a  principle  of  mine 
never  to  swear  at  any  time  in  my  life."  A  word 
fitly  spoken  to  a  crowd  in  which  were  so  many 
rough  men. 

At  Omaha  he  rested  over  Sunday.  The  day 
before  a  grand  procession  was  got  up  for  him, 
and  an  immense  throng  was  assembled  from  far 
and  near  to  greet  him.  He  attended  the  Meth- 


HIS   ARRIVAL    AT   GALENA    AtfD    CHICAGO.    539 

odist  church,  which  was  decked  with  banners, 
evergreens,  and  festoons  of  autumn  leaves. 
Resuming  his  triumphal  journey,  stopping  now 
and  then  to  address  the  crowds  gathered  to  meet 
him,  he  at  last  approached  his  old  home,  Galena, 
where  he  designed  to  take  a  long  rest.  The 
entire  population  turned  out  to  receive  him, 
and  conducted  him  to  the  grand  stand  erected 
for  the  occasion,  where  the  mayor  welcomed 
him  in  a  lengthy  address,  to  which  the  General 
made  a  short  reply,  expressing  his  delight  to  be 
in  his  old  home  again.  After  resting  here  for 
about  a  week,  he  on  the  12th  of  November 
went  to  Chicago.  As  he  entered  the  place 
a  heavy  rain  set  in,  but  the  mighty  crowd  at 
the  station  did  not  move  till  Grant  was  in  the 
carriage  and  drove  rapidly  away.  Then  the 
mighty  mass  poured  after  it  on  a  run,  shouting 
as  they  surged  along  like  a  black  and  turbulent 
sea  under  a  stormy  heaven. 

The  regular  procession,  numbering  ten  thou- 
sand people,  with  General  Sheridan  as  marshal, 
started  at  half -past  one,  and  marched  through 
the  principal  streets  of  the  city.  General  Grant, 
having  reviewed  it  from  a  balcony  erected  at 
the  Palmer  House,  descended  into  the  rotunda 
of  the  hotel,  where  he  received  a  formal  wel- 
come to  the  city  from  Mayor  Harrison  in  a 
lengthy  address,  in  which  he  gave  a  hurried 


540  LIFE    OF    GRAN!'. 

sketch  of  General  Grant's  brilliant  career  as  a 
soldier.  The  latter,  in  replying,  said  that  the 
speech  was  so  personal  to  himself  that  it  would 
not  be  in  good  taste  for  him  to  respond  to  it. 
But,  referring  to  an  allusion  to  his  trip  abroad, 
he  said  that  his  reception  in  every  case  he  felt 
was  a  tribute  to  his  country  ;  that  the  feelings 
of  foreign  countries  toward  our  government  had 
undergone  a  great  change  in  the  last  few  years. 
"  Formerly,"  he  said,  "  it  was  believed  that  we 
had  not  a  nation ;  that  it  was  a  mere  confedera- 
tion of  States  tied  together  by  a  rope  of  sand, 
that  would  give  way  upon  the  slightest  friction. 
They  have  found  out  their  great  mistake.  They 
know  that  we  have  now  a  government,  that  we 
are  a  nation,  and  that  we  are  strong,  intelligent, 
and  brave  people,  capable  of  judging  and  know- 
ing our  rights,  and  determined  on  all  occasions 
to  maintain  them  against  either  domestic  or 
foreign  foes.  And  this  is  the  explanation  of 
the  receptions  that  you  have  received  through 
me  when  I  was  abroad,  gentlemen."  At  the 
close  the  crowd  pressed  on  him  in  such  vast 
numbers,  that  the  mayor  felt  compelled  to  end 
the  hand-shaking,  and  conducted  him  to  a  pri- 
vate parlor  where  he  could  rest.  Chicago  had 
never  before  witnessed  such  a  gala  day. 

It   had    been    a   wearisome    day  to   General 
Grant,  yet  in  the  evening  he  attended  the  recep- 


FESTIVITIES    IN    CHICAGO.  541 

tion  given  him  by  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  at 
Haverly's  Theatre.  In  response  to  the  various 
speeches  made  by  distinguished  men  of  the  State, 
he  replied  in  what  for  him  was  a  lengthy  ad- 
dress, though  it  seemed  to  be  of  the  briefest  kind 
compared  to  those  that  preceded  it.  The  noxt 
day,  at  the  Veteran  Club,  he  made  another 
lenghthy  speech  for  him,  and  closed  by  saying, 
"  Now,  gentlemen,  I  have  said  a  great  deal  more 
than  I  had  any  idea  I  could  say  when  I  got  up. 
But,  as  Mark  Twain  very  aptly  remarked  last 
night,  I  could  make  a  much  better  extemporane- 
ous speech,  if  I  had  a  couple  of  hours  to  prepare 
it."  At  a  grand  banquet  given  at  the  Palmer 
House  in  the  evening,  long,  eloquent  speeches 
were  made,  to  which  he  responded  briefly.  A 
series  of  brilliant  receptions  and  banquets  fol- 
lowed. 

General  Grant  was  visiting  his  son  here,  and 
felt  relieved  when  the  round  of  festivities  was 
over  and  he  could  enjoy  a  little  repose.  Al- 
though other  receptions  awaited  hirn  at  differ- 
ent places  before  he  reached  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board, nothing  surpassed  the  one  in  Chicago  in 
size,  brilliancy,  and  in  the  eloquence  of  the 
speakers. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

3eneral  Grant  "Returns  to  Philadelphia — Reception — Interested 
in  the  Nicaragua  Canal — Speech  at  Camp-Fire  of  the  Vet- 
erans— Starts  for  Havana — Triumphal  Journey  Through 
the  South — Reception  at  Cuba — Visits  Plantations — Al- 
most a  Serious  Accident — Sails  for  Vera  Cruz— At  Orizaba 
— Reaches  Mexico — Reminiscences— Sails  for  Galveston — 
Boat  Springs  a  Leak— Reception  at  Galveston— A  Boy 
Hurt — Through  Texas — Reception  at  New  Orleans— Speech 
at  Vicksburg — Reception  at  Memphis— Speech  at  Cairo 
— Reception  at  Galena — Visits  the  Home  of  Lincoln — A 
Candidate  for  the  Presidency — Inspects  the  Mines  of  Colo- 
rado—Takes an  Active  Part  in  the  Presidential  Campaign 
— A  Quarter  of  a  Million  Dollars  Raised  for  Him— Recep- 
tion by  the  Legislature  at  Albany — Visits  Mexico  Again 
— A  Banquet  Given  Him — Views  on  the  Reciprocity  Treaty 
—His  Strong  Desire  to  See  Sectional  Feeling  Allayed— 
His  Defence  of  Fifcz  John  Porter— The  Retirement  Bill 
—Will  Take  no  Pension — A  Fall  on  the  Ice — Partnership 
•with  Ward  and  Fish— Loss  of  Fortune— His  Property 
Turned  Over  to  Vanderbilt,  Who  Offers  to  Cancel  the 
Debt — Grant's  Refusal — His  Presents  to  be  Deposited  in 
the  Archives  of  the  Government. 

GENERAL  GRANT  seemed  to  be  in  no  hurry 
after  he  reached  the  Pacific  slope  to  get  back 
to  the  East.  Born  and  raised  in  the  West, 
and  spending  his  early  manhood  there,  his 
associations  were  all  with  it,  and  he  lingered 
on  his  route  visiting  various  places,  and  did 


PHILADELPHIA    HONORS    HIM.  543 

not  reach  Philadelphia  till  December  16th, 
about  three  months  after  he  landed  at  San 
Fiancisco,  or  about  two  years  and  a  half  from 
the  time  he  started  on  his  journey  round  the 
world.  He  was  not  rich,  and  his  friends  soon 
began  to  cast  about  for  some  way  to  make 
his  life  comfortable,  and  it  was  proposed  to 
make  him  Captain-General,  thus  securing  him 
rank  and  a  competency  for  life. 

Of  course  Grant's,  arrival  was  the  occasion 
of  a  magnificent  display  in  the  city,  and  it  was 
said  that  30,000  persons  were  in  the  procession 
that  escorted  him  through  the  streets.  In  a 
day  or  two  he  had  an  interview  with  Admiral 
Amman  respecting  the  feasibility  of  getting  up 
a  company  to  build  the  Nicaragua  Canal.  This 
had  been  a  favorite  scheme  with  him  while 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  it  was 
stated  in  some  quarters  that  his  visit  to  Europe 
had  something  to  do  with  the  project.  At  all 
events,  Admiral  Amman  had  written  to  him 
while  abroad  on  the  subject,  and  he  had  at  last 
consented  to  be  one  of  the  corporators  of  "  The 
Interoceanic  Canal  Company,"  and  when  it  was 
fully  organized  to  become  its  president.  Presi- 
dent Hayes  was  in  favor  of  it,  and  promised 
to  urge  it  on  Congress,  or,  in  his  own  word*, 
44  to  do  everything  in  my  power  to  promote  its 
success."  General  Grant  had  consulted  French 


544  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

engineers  on  the  feasibility  of  the  work,  and 
for  a  time  it  looked  as  if  the  project  would 
be  carried  out. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  in  detail  of  the 
reasons  why  the  scheme  ultimately  fell  through. 
The  French  company  was  formed  to  build  the 
canal  across  the  isthmus  at  Panama,  with 
Lesseps  for  its  head,  which  at  once  absorbed 
public  attention.  It  could  not  be  expected 
that  money  could  be  raised  to  carry  out  both 
projects,  for  it  was  plain  that  with  two  canals 
neither  would  pay,  and  Lesseps'  soon  becoming 
an  established  fact,  of  course  the  Nicaragua 
route  was  temporarily  abandoned,  though  it 
is  not  certain  yet  but  it  will  be  found  best  to 
build  it,  and  that  General  Grant's  judgment  as 
to  which  route  should  be  selected  was  correct. 

General  Grant  remained  a  fortnight  in  Phila- 
delphia, receiving  distinguished  attention  from 
public  institutions  and  prominent  men.  At  a 
camp-fire  of  the  veterans,  to  which  he  was 
invited,  he  said  to  the  soldiers :  "  You  have  a 
country  to  be  proud  of,  to  fight  for,  to  die  for. 
In  all  my  journeys  round  the  world,  I  have 
never  seen  one  to  compare  with  it." 

He  now  planned  a  trip  to  Havana  and  Mex- 
ico, but  before  he  went  he  made  a  short  visit 
to  his  aged  mother  in  New  Jersey.  Eeturning 
to  Philadelphia,  he  in  the  last  of  December 


VISITS    THE    SOUTH.  545 

started  south  with  a  party  of  friends  on  his 
journey.  Though  the  country  through  which 
he  rapidly  passed  had  been  so  recently  con- 
quered by  him,  and  was  still  smarting  under 
its  humiliation,  he  was  everywhere  received 
with  marked  honor. 

Judge  T.  J.  Mackey,  of  South  Carolina,  now 
a  member  of  the  Washington  bar,  and  formerly 
a  major  in  the  Confederate  army,  in  speaking 
of  General  Grant  and  the  general  sympathy 
with  him  expressed  in  the  Southern  States  and 
among  ex- Confederate  soldiers,  said  :  "I  was 
the  Judge  of  the  Sixth  Circuit  Court  of  South 
Carolina  when  General  Grant  passed  through 
the  State  in  December,  1879,  en  route  to  Mexico. 
He  was  accompanied  by  General  Sheridan  and 
a  small  party  of  friends.  I  was  appointed  the 
chairman  of  a  committee  of  ex-Confederates  of 
Chester  County  to  meet  Grant  when  he  entered 
the  State  and  to  escort  him  to  Chester,  my 
district,  extending  to  the  northern  limit  of 
South  Carolina.  We  performed  that  duty, 
and  upon  our  arrival  at  the  Chester  Railroad 
station  one  thousand  ex- Confederate  soldiers 
were  in  line.  They  gave  nine  cheers  for  the 
General,  with  the  old  Confederate  yell  and  a 
4  tiger.'  General  Grant  stepped  out  on  the 
platform,  and  when  I  presented  him  some  one 
called  out,  '  Don't  introduce  him,  Judge :  we 


546  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

all  know  Grant.'  The  General  addressed  them 
briefly.  At  other  stations  along  the  route  he 
met  with  similar  receptions.  On  his  arrival 
at  Columbia,  Captain  W.  B.  Stanley,  the  Mayor 
of  the  city,  boarded  the  train  with  the  Com- 
mon Council.  They  were  all  ex-Confederate 
soldiers.  They  tendered  to  Grant  the  freedom 
of  the  city  and  informed  him  that  they  had  pro- 
vided a  banquet  in  his  honor.  He  expressed 
his  regret  that,  inasmuch  as  he  would  be  ac- 
corded a  public  reception  at  Augusta,  he  would 
be  obliged  to  decline  the  proffered  hospitality. 

"  A  noteworthy  incident  occurred  as  the  train 
was  entering  Columbia.  General  Grant  pointed 
to  two  fire-blackened  chimneys,  which  recalled 
the  burning  of  the  city  by  the  Federal  forces 
in  1865,  and  said :  c  I  suppose  those  are  two  of 
Sherman's  monuments  ? '  '  Yes,'  I  answered  ; 
*  they  are,  and  they  are  not  the  most  honorable 
columns  of  victory  that  a  soldier  can  leave  be- 
hind him  in  his  own  country.'  General  Grant 
replied :  i  Well,  I  made  war  on  armies.'  I 
said :  '  We  know  that ;  and  for  that  reason 
Confederate  soldiers  gather  everywhere  to 
honor  you  as  a  soldier  to-day.'  General  Sher- 
idan, who  was  near  by,  and  who,  in  view  of  his 
blazing  campaign  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
was  doubtless  sensitive  on  this  subject,  observed 
to  General  Grant :  '  I  believe  there  were 


PROGRESS    THROUGH    THE    SOUTH.  547 

houses  burned  in  your  lines  near  Richmond.1 
General  Grant  answered  :  i  There  was  a  large 
dwelling  burned  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond, 
and  the  Richmond  newspapers  stated  that  it  was 
the  residence  of  the  Confederate  Secretary  of 
War,  Seddons,  and  that  it  was  burned  for  that 
reason.  I  investigated  the  matter  and  found 
that  some  of  our  men  were  spending  the  night 
in  it  against  orders,  and  it  was  accidentally  set 
on  fire,  the  men  losing  a  portion  of  their  equip- 
ments. The  only  building  that  I  know  which 
was  intentionally  burned  in  my  lines  was  a 
small  hotel  at  Jackson,  Miss.  The  proprietors 
had  treated  some  of  our  soldiers,  who  were 
prisoners,  with  great  harshness,  and  when  they 
were  released  by  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  they  re- 
taliated in  this  form.  I  ordered  an  investiga- 
tion, but  I  did  not  press  it  upon  learning  the 
facts.'  General  Grant's  progress,"  continued 
Judge  Mackey,  "  through  the  State  was  a  real 
triumphal  march,  and  when  he  reached  Beau- 
fort, where  he  took  the  steamer,  he  was  received 
with  a  salute  of  one  hundred  guns  fired  by  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  an 
organization  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
old,  and  composed  chiefly  of  survivors  of  the 
garrison  at  Fort  Sumter.'1 

Even  in  Charleston,  the  hot-bed  of  secession, 
an  assemblage  of  three  thousand  people  received 


548  LIFE    OF    GEANT. 

him.  The  streets  were  crowded  as  his  carriage 
passed  through  them.  The  colored  troops  pa- 
raded and  cheers  greeted  him  at  every  step. 

At  Savannah  he  was  received  with  all  honors 
by  the  Mayor  and  Common  Council,  as  also  in 
Montgomery  and  Jacksonville.  In  fact,  every- 
where the  South  bore  its  testimony,  doubly  valu- 
able from  the  source  from  whence  it  came,  to 
the  magnanimity  and  grand  disinterestedness  of 
the  man  who  had  crushed  them.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  month  he  sailed  for  Havana,  arriving 
there  on  the  28th,  and  was  received  as  usual  by 
the  city  authorities  and  conducted  through  a 
crowd  of  people  to  his  hotel.  During  the  fort- 
night or  so  that  he  remained  he  visited  some  of 
the  plantations  in  the  interior  and  was  enter- 
tained sumptuously  by  the  wealthy  planters, 
who  were  glad  to  show  him  how  they  managed 
their  crops.  Just  before  leaving,  on  February 
12th,  he  went  to  a  plantation  at  Las  Canas, 
between  Havana  and  Matanzas.  Returning  on 
the  train  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  he  came  near 
meeting  with  a  serious  accident.  Running 
along  an  embankment  one  hundred  feet  high, 
the  train  struck  a  cow  and  was  hurled  from 
the  track,  but  fortunately  it  was  not  thrown 
down  the  steep  descent,  and  no  one  was  hurt. 
The  next  day  he  took  a  steamer  for  Vera  Cruz, 
the  officials  of  Havana  accompanying  him  to 


IN    THE    CITY    OF    MEXICO.  549 

the  port.  At  Yera  Cruz,  where  the  authorities 
received  him  with  the  usual  formalities,  a  com- 
mittee from  Mexico  was  awaiting  to  escort 
him  to  the  capital.  Remaining  here  but  a  few 
hours  he  took  the  train  for  Orizaba,  where  he 
remained  two  days,  a  grand  reception  and  ban- 
quet having  been  prepared  for  him.  Leaving 
here  on  a  special  train,  he  arrived  in  Mexico  on 
February  21st.  How  changed  everything  was 
from  thirty -four  years  before,  when  he  went 
this  same  route  with  Scott's  gallant  army ;  then 
he  was  heralded,  not  with  shouts  of  welcome, 
but  with  the  thunders  of  hostile  cannon  arid 
curses  of  the  people.  A  young  lieutenant,  he 
had  here  received  his  first  baptism  of  fire,  and 
first  learned  how  an  army  should  be  handled 
and  victories  won. 

At  Mexico  ten  thousand  people  were  assem- 
bled to  receive  him — the  streets  being  blocked 
by  the  multitude.  Through  double  files  of  troops 
and  rural  guards  bearing  flaming  torches,  he 
slowly  passed  with  uncovered  head,  followed  by 
the  tumultuous  shouts  of  the  people.  How  viv- 
idly it  called  up  the  scene  he  had  gazed  on  in 
that  same  place  more  than  a  third  of  a  century 
before,  when  Scott's  brave  ten  thousand  soldiers 
stood  there,  begirt  only  by  foes  and  fired  at  from 
the  houses  now  decorated  with  flags  of  welcome. 
During  his  short  stay  here  he  made  a  trip  in  the 


550  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

environs,  visiting  the  historical  places — Pachuca 
Puebla  and  the  famous  pyramid  of  Cholula— 
and  on  March  18th  took  steamer  for  Galveston, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  23d.  The  vessel  sprang 
a  leak  on  the  passage,  and  but  for  the  skill  and 
good  management  of  the  captain  a  serious  dis- 
aster would  have  occurred.  At  the  brilliant 
reception  given  him  here  he,  in  reply  to  the 
Mayor's  address,  spoke  of  his  first  visit  to  Texas 
to  help  settle  the  boundary  line,  and  was  glad 
to  visit  it  again,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  no 
sectional  boundary  line  would  ever  exist  be- 
tween it  and  the  other  States.  In  the  crush  to 
get  sight  of  him  a  little  boy  fell  from  a  shed 
and  hurt  himself  severely.  Hearing  of  it 
General  Grant  went  to  see  the  little  fellow  and 
comfort  him. 

From  here  he  went  to  Antonio  the  last  of 
March,  and  then  on  to  Houston,  receiving  every- 
where a  constant  ovation.  Having  on  the  begin- 
ning of  his  trip  received  an  invitation  to  visit 
New  Orleans,  he  now  went  there  and  the  whole 
city  turned  out  to  meet  him.  Here  he  received 
an  invitation  from  the  authorities  of  Mobile  to 
visit  that  city,  which  he  accepted  of  course.  These 
were  all  flying  visits,  and  are  mentioned  to  show 
the  feeling  of  the  South  toward  their  former 
conqueror.  Going  north  he  reached  Vicksburg 
on  the  12th,  and  after  a  public  reception  visited 


SCENES    Otf   HIS    VICTORIES  661 

the  national  cemetery,  and  made  an  excursion 
up  the  river  to  look  at  the  ruins  of  the  great 
canal  he  once  cut  around  the  city.  In  his  speech 
delivered  at  the  court-house,  in  reply  to  the  ad- 
dress of  welcome,  he  said  he  believed  a  day  of 
great  prosperity  was  dawning  on  the  country, 
and  nothing  would  ever  occur  to  bring  the  blue 
and  gray  again  in  collision.  In  Memphis,  where 
he  arrived  March  13th,  an  immense  crowd  re- 
ceived him  with  tumultuous  cheers.  In  the  court 
square  a  stand  was  erected  for  him.  After  his 
short  reply  to  the  Mayor's  welcome  more  than 
fifteen  thousand  people  crowded  around  it  to 
shake  hands  with  him. 

Continuing  on  his  way  north,  he  stopped  at 
Little  Rock,  Cairo,  and  Bloomington.  At  Cairo 
he  made  one  of  his  longest  speeches,  saying  that 
his  military  career  began  there.  He  dwelt  on 
the  warm  reception  he  had  received  in  the 
Southern  States,  every  one  of  which  he  had  now 
touched  at  some  point,  and  said  that  everywhere 
he  had  seen  the  Union  flag  floating,  and  be- 
lieved that  the  expressions  of  loyalty  to  it  which 
he  had  heard  were  sincere.  Most  of  the  ad- 
dresses of  welcome  which  he  had  received  were 
made,  he  said,  by  those  who  had  borne  arms 
against  it,  but  now  were  ready  to  fight  for  it. 
Keeping  on  to  Galena,  he  remained  there  a 
short  time,  and  then  visited  Chicago,  where  a 


552  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

people's  reception  was  given  him.  From  here 
he  went  to  Springfield  to  visit  the  home  of  Lin- 
coln. He  then  returned  to  Galena,  and  settled 
down  to  a  quiet  life.  It  was  now  well  on  in 
May,  and  the  Republican  Convention  to  nomi- 
nate the  next  President  was  to  take  place  in  a 
month.  The  excitement,  in  view  of  the  approach- 
ing event,  was  intense  throughout  the  country. 
General  Grant  had  been  put  forward  as  the 
candidate  of  the  Republican  party,  but  many  of 
his  warmest  friends  had  not  only  declared,  when 
his  name  was  first  mentioned,  that  he  would 
not  serve,  but  even  now  believed  that  at  the 
last  moment  he  would  withdraw  his  name.  But 
he  had  hardly  settled  down  in  Galena,  when  a 
statement  in  a  Galena  paper,  evidently  author- 
ized by  Grant  himself,  stated  that,  as  he  had 
never  placed  his  name  in  the  field,  neither  should 
he  withdraw  it.  This  settled  the  question,  and 
the  two  sections  of  the  party  prepared  for  a 
severe  contest.  That  the  nomination  lay  be- 
tween him  and  Mr.  Blaine  was  well  understood, 
and  the  friends  of  each  were  busy  with  the  dele- 
gates, especially  with  those  who  were  elected 
without  instructions.  It  is  unnecessary  to  go 
into  the  history  of  the  long  and  bitter  struggle 
that  followed.  The  Convention  met  in  Chicago 
on  June  2d,  and  continued  nearly  a  week  in  a 
deadlock  between  General  Grant  and  Mr.  Blaine, 


THE    THIRD    TERM    EXCITEMENT.  553 

It  was  at  last  broken,  and  Mr.  Garfield  received 
the  nomination. 

His  consenting  to  be  a  candidate  was  un- 
doubtedly a  great  mistake.  There  was  no  con- 
stitutional objection  to  his  running  for  a  third 
term,  but  the  example  set  by  Washington  was 
considered  sacred  as  law,  and  a  precedent  so  set 
and  faithfully  followed  from  that  time  on  should 
not  be  slightly  put  aside.  It  is  true  there  had 
been  an  interval  of  four  years,  but,  the  rule  once 
broken,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  a  continu- 
ous presidency  of  one  man,  which  would  be  far 
worse  than  a  limited  monarchy.  It  was  unwise, 
too,  to  strain  so  severely  the  affection  and  loyalty 
of  the  people,  who  wished  to  honor  him,  and  yet 
who  would  hesitate  to  help  establish  what  they 
believed  a  dangerous  precedent.  Besides,  it  is 
probable  that  this  very  feeling  would  have 
estranged  enough  of  his  friends  to  have  defeated 
him. 

This  would  have  caused  him  the  deepest  mor- 
tification. Though  this  may  be  all  true,  it  is  not 
true  the  charge  made  against  him  at  the  time 
of  being  governed  by  personal  ambition  and  the 
love  of  power,  which  he  meant  to  hold  and  wield 
at  any  cost  to  the  last.  Whether  the  true 
reason  for  his  course  can  be  given  or  not,  this 
was  false.  A  man's  whole  life  and  character 
cannot  be  set  aside  when  confronted  by  a  sin- 


654  tI*E    Otf   GRANT. 


gle  act.  No  man  ever  rose  to  such,  a  height 
of  popularity  and  power  as  he,  yet  showed 
so  little  ambition.  Moreover,  he  declared  re- 
peatedly that  he  did  not  wish  the  position,  say- 
ing that  it  was  distasteful  to  him,  and  that  he 
would  not  accept  the  presidency,  if  offered  him, 
on  personal  grounds  alone,  leaving  out  all  other 
questions.  Abroad,  whenever  the  possibility  of 
his  becoming  president  again  was  brought  up, 
he  invariably  expressed  these  sentiments.  But 
his  friends  having,  without  consulting  him,  put 
him  in  nomination,  urged,  as  they  believed,  by 
patriotic  motives,  he  did  not  feel  that  he  had 
any  right  to  withdraw.  Grant's  most  promi- 
nent weakness  was  his  strong  aversion  to  do 
anything  that  would  displease  his  friends.  His 
most  serious  mistakes  grew  out  of  this.  At  all 
events,  it  was  unjust  to  charge  him  with  being 
governed  solely  by  personal  ambition  in  the 
course  he  took. 

Soon  after  this,  he  wrote  to  a  former  Mexican 
minister  at  Washington,  urging  the  necessity  of 
a  better  railroad  system  in  Mexico,  in  order  to 
reach  the  valuable  mines  of  the  country  and 
develop  its  resources.  He  then  took  a  trip  to 
Colorado,  to  inspect  its  mines  with  reference  to 
some  future  business  arrangements,  and  took  up 
his  residence  with  his  family  at  Moniton,  a 
pleasant  summer  resort,  from  whence  he  made 


SETTLING    IN    NEW    YORK.  555 

excursions  to  the  mountains.  In  autumn  be 
carne  to  New  York,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
the  presidential  campaign,  and  reviewed  the  great 
Republican  parade  of  October  10th.  His  future 
residence  was  to  be  New  York,  and  his  friends 
soon  began  to  look  around  and  lay  plans  by 
which  he  could  be  supported  in  a  manner  be- 
coming his  high  position,  and  as  the  deliverer  of 
his  country  ought  to  be.  This  man  who  had 
carried  the  country  through  the  greatest  civil 
war  the  world  had  ever  witnessed,  and  after- 
ward devoted  eight  of  the  best  years  of  his 
life  as  president  to  the  complete  restoration  of 
that  Union  he  had  by  his  valor  saved,  was  with- 
out the  means  to  properly  support  his  family. 
That  it  was  so  was  a  disgrace  to  the  country, 
and  gave  still  more  emphasis  to  the  proverb 
that  republics  are  ungrateful.  Such  a  spectacle 
no  monarchy  would  have  allowed  the  world  to 
witness.  Any  man  in  England  who  had  done 
for  his  country  what  Grant  had  for  his,  would 
have  been  made  a  peer  of  the  realm  and  given 
an  estate  and  a  fortune  to  sustain  his  position 
with  becoming  dignity. 

An  effort  was  finally  made  in  January  to  get 
Congress  pass  a  retirement  bill,  placing  him  on 
the  retired  list  with  the  rank  and  full  pay  of  a 
general.  But  though  it  passed  the  Senate,  it  was 
blocked  in  the  House,  and  some  of  his  friends 


556  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

finally  determined  to  raise  a  permanent  fund  for 
him,  and  a  subscription  was  started  by  a  few  of 
our  wealthiest  citizens,  fixing  the  amount  at  a 
quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars.  By  the  latter 
part  of  March  the  entire  sum  was  subscribed 
and  invested  in  Wabash  Railroad  bonds,  at 
six  per  cent.,  guaranteed,  by  Mr.  Morgan,  for 
ten  years.  A  house  costing  $60,000  was  also 
purchased  for  him  in  East  Sixty-sixth  Street. 
This  secured  him  against  all  anxiety  as  to  the 
future,  while  it  enabled  him  to  maintain  the 
style  of  living  suitable  to  his  high  position. 

In  the  meantime  he  visited  Albany,  where  a 
grand  reception  was  given  him — seventy  thou- 
sand people  it  is  said  being  present.  He  was 
also  formally  received  by  the  Legislature,  both 
Houses  assembling  in  the  Assembly  chamber 
for  the  purpose.  Leaning  on  the  arm  of  the 
Lieutenant-Governor,  General  Grant  was  con- 
ducted with  much  ceremony  to  the  Speaker's 
chair,  and  addressed  by  him  in  behalf  of  the 
State. 

He  soon  after  went  again  to  Mexico  to  en- 
deavor to  enlist  the  Government  in  the  railroad 
schemes  he  had  previously  advocated,  and  of 
which  he  was  the  head.  He  was  given  a  public 
dinner  in  the  capital,  and  in  reply  to  a  toast 
made  a  speech  in  which  he  said  nothing  stood 
in  the  way  of  the  development  of  the  country 


REVISITS    MEXICO.  557 

except  the  people  themselves,  and  refuted  com- 
pletely the  assertion  of  those  opposed  to  him, 
that  the  interest  of  Americans  in  Mexican  affairs 
concealed  a  secret  design  to  annex  the  country 
to  the  United  States.  He  had  become  deeply 
interested  in  Mexico,  believing  that  a  great 
future  lay  before  the  country  if  it  would  put 
forth  the  energy  necessary  to  develop  her  re- 
sources, while  at  the  same  time  her  commercial 
prosperity  would  add  greatly  to  that  of  the 
United  States. 

On  his  return  home,  when  the  reciprocity 
treaty  came  up  in  Congress,  he  advocated  it 
warmly  and  told  members  of  Congress  that  the 
treaty  was  right,  for  as  things  now  stood  Eng- 
land and  Germany  were  getting  the  largest 
share  of  the  trade  of  the  country.  To  some  one 
saying  that  it  was  reported  that  in  his  railroad 
schemes  he  was  working  in  the  interest  of  Jay 
Gould,  he  replied  he  was  not,  but  in  the  interest 
of  fifty  millions  of  people.  But  while  his  mind 
was  thus  occupied  with  the  material  interests 
of  Mexico,  he  was  also  keenly  alive  to  those 
of  his  own  country,  dwelling  especially  on  the 
importance  of  the  complete  restoration  of  feel- 
ing between  the  North  and  South.  At  public 
dinners  before  Southern  gentlemen  he  could 
hardly  reply  to  a  toast  without  speaking  warmly 
on  this  subject. 


558  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

But  there  was  one  thing  about  which  there 
was  much  angry  discussion  in  Congress  during 
the  years  of  1882-83,  which  illustrates  his  mag- 
nanimity and  stern  integrity  more  than  any  one 
event  of  his  life.  General  FitzJohn  Porter  had 
been  court-martialled  for  not  aiding  General 
Pope,  as  ordered  by  him  in  his  defeat  at  the 
last  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  was  dismissed  the 
service.  He  denied  the  justice  of  this  judg- 
ment and  endeavored  to  have  it  set  aside  by 
Congress  and  the  President.  Grant  had  given 
his  opinion  confirming  the  action  of  the  court- 
martial.  Porter,  believing  that  if  he  would 
give  him  a  hearing  and  go  over  all  the  evidence 
carefully,  he  would,  as  a  great  commander,  see 
the  injustice  of  it,  Grant  finally  consented  to 
sift  the  matter  to  the  bottom.  After  he  had 
done  so  he  frankly  confessed  that  he  had  decided 
wrongly,  and  that  the  court-martial  and  Congress 
also  were  both  wrong.  Now,  it  is  rare  in  this 
world  that  a  great  commander  confesses  he  has 
erred  in  his  opinion  on  any  military  question, 
but  rarer  still  to  make  that  confession  public  in 
a  letter  as  he  did. 

It  may  be  said  that  if  it  was  just,  he  should 
have  been  glad  to  do  it  Theoretically  that  is 
true,  and  Brutus  was  simply  right ;  but  for  all 
that  there  are  not  many  like  him  in  the  world, 
and  this  act  of  General  Grant  stamps  him  as 


A  SEVERE    ACCIDENT.  559 

one  of  the  noblest,  most  unselfish,  and  most 
magnanimous  of  men. 

All  this  time,  at  every  session  of  Congress,  his 
friends  were  endeavoring  to  get  the  retirement 
bill  passed.  Baffled  in  this,  they  proposed  to 
introduce  one  granting  him  a  pension.  On 
hearing  of  this,  he  promptly  repudiated  it,  say- 
ing that  in  no  case  would  he  accept  a  pension. 
It  was  an  indignity  to  offer  the  old  hero  a  pen- 
sion, just  as  one  would  a  maimed  private,  and 
he  felt  it  as  such.  He  said  frankly  that  he 
would  be  pleased  to  be  restored  to  his  old  rank 
in  the  army,  but  he  would  receive  nothing  else 
from  the  Government. 

During  the  winter,  he  met  with  a  serious  acci- 
dent, or  what  proved  to  be  one  by  the  long 
confinement  to  which  it  subjected  him.  Slip- 
ping on  the  ice,  he  fell  in  such  a  way  as  to 
strain  one  of  his  legs  severely.  No  bone  was 
broken,  but  the  injury  proved  to  be  more  last- 
ing in  its  effects  than  a  fracture  would  have 
been.  He  was  not  only  laid  up  for  some  time, 
but  long  after  he  was  able  to  get  about,  was 
compelled  to  use  crutches — indeed,  never  entirely 
recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  injury.  The 
long  months  of  inactivity  to  which  it  subjected 
him  told  heavily  on  his  general  health,  and  his 
friends  thought  that  this  hastened,  if  not  in- 
duced, the  fatal  disease  that  ended  his  life. 


560  LIFE    OF 

But  his  crowning  misfortune  was  the  failure 
of  the  house  of  Grant  &  Ward,  bankers.  He 
had  been  tempted  in  an  evil  day  to  form  a  part- 
nership with  a  man  who,  though  he  stood  high 
in  business  circles,  was  in  reality  an  accom- 
plished swindler.  For  a  time,  money  poured 
in  from  his  operations  in  such  quantities  that 
Grant  thought  he  saw  in  the  near  future  a 
colossal  fortune.  He  came  into  it  in  1880,  and 
though  for  the  last  two  years  he  had  drawn 
out  two  and  three  thousand  dollars  a  month, 
this  was  a  mere  fraction  of  his  gains,  and  he 
left  the  bulk  of  them  in  the  vaults  of  the  house, 
so  safe  did  he  consider  it. 

The  credit  which  it  preserved  among  the 
old  and  wise  operators  of  the  street,  in  view  of 
the  enormous  dividends  it  paid,  was  some- 
thing extraordinary.  But  the  day  of  doom 
came  at  last,  and  the  showy  fabric  that  was 
rotten  from  top  to  bottom  fell  with  a  crash, 
carrying  down  all  of  Grant's  fortune  with  it. 

The  greatest  mistake  of  his  life,  and  the  one 
which  embittered  it  most,  was  this  partner- 
ship with  Fish  and  Ward.  It  swept  him  of 
his  property,  it  connected  his  name  with  swind- 
lers, it  threw  suspicion  on  his  integrity — in  short, 
crushed  him  to  the  earth. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the  details  of 
this  sad  affair.  The  collapse  of  the  house 


WARD'S  FAILURE.  561 

revealed  a  state  of  rottenness,  fraud,  and  rob- 
bery that  astonished  the  city ;  and  Grant  had 
lent  his  name  to  this  stupendous  swindle,  nay, 
had  been  induced  to  borrow,  personally,  $150,- 
000  from  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  to  prop  it  up,  only  a 
day  or  two  before  it  was  exposed.  No  one 
can  doubt  but  that  he  thought  the  house  to 
which  he  lent  his  name  was  a  firm  and  sub- 
stantial one,  and  doing  a  legitimate  business. 
It  is  folly  to  say  that  the  enormous  dividends 
he  received  should  have  awakened  his  suspi- 
cions. If  the  old  and  wary  operators  in  Wall 
Street  were  deceived,  it  is  absurd  to  suppose 
that  this  man,  unacquainted  with  business, 
should  not  be.  Doubtless,  his  governing  motive 
in  going  into  the  firm,  in  which  he  put  $J  00,000, 
was  to  establish  his  sons  in  business.  The  only 
thing  that  need  be  said  about  it  is,  that  an 
ex-President  of  the  United  States  should  not 
have  gone  into  Wall  Street  at  all,  and  been 
mixed  up  with  the  herd  of  stock  gamblers, 
whose  gains  consist  in  other  people's  losses. 

Grant  immediately  made  over  what  property 
was  left  him  to  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  to  secure  the 
loan  of  $1 50,000.  The  latter  generously  offered 
to  cancel  the  debt,  but  Grant  refused  to  accept 
the  offer.  Among  other  things,  he  surrendered 
all  the  valuable  presents  he  received  while 

abroad.     These   Mr.    Vanderbilt    returned    to 
86 


562  LIFE  OF   GttAttT. 

Mrs.  Grant,  but  she  refused  to  accept  them,  ex- 
cept on  condition  they  should  be  deposited  in 
the  archives  of  the  government.  (See  Aj> 
pendix.) 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Last  Illness — Cancer  of  the  Throat — Commences  the  Task  oi 
Writing  his  Memoirs — Letters  and  Resolutions  of  Sympa- 
thy—Removed to  Mt.  McGregor— Death— Burial  at  River- 
side Park,  New  York — His  Character. 

BUT  this  life  that  .had  carried  with  it  such 
great  destinies  was  destined  soon  to  end. 

On  June  2d,  1884,  when  eating  some  fruit 
in  his  cottage  at  Long  Branch,  he  felt  a  lump 
in.  his  throat,  which  made  swallowing  paiiif  uL 
As  it  grew  more  painful,  he  called  on  a  doctor 
stopping  there,  who  advised  him  to  consult  his 
family  physician;  but  General  Grant  did  not 
think  it  a  serious  case  enough  for  that.  The 
swelling,  however,  continuing  to  grow  more 
painful,  he  at  last,  on  October  22d,  consulted 
Dr.  Barker,  who,  on  examination  of  the  throat, 
saw  that  it  was  a  serious  matter,  and  advised 
him  to  go  at  once  to  Dr.  Douglas,  a  specialist 
in  throat  diseases.  The  latter  saw  that  the 
disease  threatened  to  develop  into  a  cancer. 
After  prescribing  some  medicines  for  him,  he 
advised  him  to  limit  his  smoking  to  three  cigars 
a  day.  After  obeying  this  direction  for  two  or 
three  days,  the  General  abandoned  smoking  al- 
together. At  the  end  of  four  weeks  he  was  so 
much  better  that  he  gave  up  his  visits  to  Dr. 


564  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

Douglas  entirely,  and  his  health  seemed  nearly 
restored.  But  in  December  he  caught  cold, 
which  brought  the  throat  trouble  back  again, 
and  in  an  aggravated  form;  and  he  again,  on 
the  16th,  put  himself  under  Dr.  Douglas'  care. 
The  treatment  he  received  relieved  the  most 
painful  symptoms.  This  state  of  things  con- 
tinued until  February  17th,  when  he  caught 
another  cold,  which  prostrated  him.  An  ex- 
amination of  the  throat  next  day  revealed 
alarming  symptoms.  On  the  day  following,  a 
consultation  of  four  physicians  was  held  over 
his  case,  and  it  was  the  unanimous  opinion  that 
the  disease  was  cancer,  and  that  it  was  incur- 
able, though  they  could  not  agree  as  to  the 
rapidity  with  which  it  would  pursue  its  deadly 
work.  The  news  of  this,  sent  to  every  part  of 
the  land,  awakened  the  greatest  anxiety  and 
the  intensest  sympathy.  Many  years  seemed 
reserved  for  him  yet,  and  the  sudden  announce- 
ment that  he  was  dying  shocked  every  heart. 
It  seemed  hardly  possible  that  he  who  occupied 
so  large  a  place  in  his  country's  history  WAS  to 
pass  off  the  stage  almost  without  a  moment's 
warning.  A  sudden  hush  seemed  to  fall  on 
the  people,  and  the  voice  of  calumny,  criticism, 
hatred  and  suspicion  was  heard  no  more. 
Mistakes  and  faults,  from  whatever  source  they 
arose,  were  forgotten,  and  his  great  services  to 


LAST   ILLNESS.  565 

Ms  country  and  the  noble  points  of  his  char- 
acter were  alone  remembered ;  and  from  e  very 
part  of  the  land,  from  individuals  and  legis- 
latures, and  organizations  of  all  kinds,  words  of 
sympathy  came  pouring  in  upon  the  great  suf- 
ferer, which  were  like  a  balm  to  his  lacerated 
heart,  and  helped  him  to  bear  with  still  greater 
fortitude  his  sufferings.  The  groups  that 
gathered  every  morning  in  the  hotels  and  on 
the  sidewalks  to  hear  the  daily  bulletins,  at- 
tested the  universal  interest  felt  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  apparently  dying  hero.  For  a  long 
time  each  night  seemed  to  bring  on  a  crisis,  and 
his  family  would  gather  round  his  bedside,  ex- 
pecting every  moment  to  be  his  last.  His  suf- 
ferings were  great,  yet  he  made  no  complaint. 
Whatever  mental  struggles  he  endured  no  one 
knew.  Calm  and  silent,  his  steadfast  look  into 
the  great  unknown  gave  no  sign  of  what  he 
saw.  A  simple  "  God  bless  you  all,"  or  similar 
expressions,  were  all  that  escaped  him.  Believ- 
ing his  end  to  be  near,  his  friends  had  tele- 
graphed to  California  for  his  old  pastor,  Dr. 
Newman,  and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Sartoris,  in 
England.  The  latter  arrived  on  the  30th  of 
March.  She  was  overcome  at  the  sight  of  her 
prostrate  father ;  but  though  he  strained  her  to 
his  bosom,  his  words  were  few  and  calm  as  in 
an  ordinary  meeting.  The  physicians  watched 


566  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

him  night  and  day  with  the  closest  attention, 
and  met  every  alarming  symptom  with  prompt 
remedies.  The  month  of  March  wore  away 
wearily,  for  it  was  a  constant  fight  with  death ; 
and  though  the  great  sufferer  bore  his  pain  pa- 
tiently, he  felt  at  times  it  were  better  not  to  keep 
up  the  useless  struggle,  and  wished  it  were  ended. 

One  event,  however,  occurred  this  month  which 
gave  him  great  pleasure  and  excited  him  more 
than  a  casual  observer  would  have  suspected, 
and  that  was  the  passage  of  the  retirement  bill 
restoring  him  to  his  old  rank  in  the  army. 

On  the  29th,  however,  there  came  a  terrible 
crisis,  and  the  telegraph  announced  to  the  world 
that  he  was  dying,  and  his  family  gathered 
around  his  bedside  in  overwhelming  grief.  To 
the  surprise  of  the  doctors  themselves,  however, 
he  rallied,  and  soon  began  to  mend.  After  a 
few  days,  however,  a  hemorrhage  set  in  which 
caused  the  greatest  alarm.  But  this  too  was 
speedily  stopped,  and  the  patient  slowly  floated 
back  to  life  and  increased  strength.  After  the 
5th  of  April  he  gained  steadily,  and  hope 
grew  strong  in  him  that  his  prayer  would  be 
granted  and  he  would  live  long  enough  to  com- 
plete his  memoirs.  These  were  undertaken  soon 
after  the  failure  of  Grant  &  Ward,  and  solely  to 
obtain  an  income  for  his  family.  Though  he 
had  often  been  solicited  by  different  book  firms 


EXPRESSION'S   OF   SYMPATHY.  567 

to  write  them,  lie  tad  invariably  refused,  but  his 
fortune  having  gone  down  in  the  general  wreck 
of  the  firm  of  Grant  &  Ward,  he  was  induced 
to  accept  an  offer  made  him  by  a  publisher,  and 
had  got  well  on  with  his  work  before  he  was 
taken  down. 

Of  expressions  of  sympathy  there  was  no  end, 
and  messages  of  love  poured  in  a  ceaseless  stream 
into  the  sick-room.  The  sick  man  felt  all  this 
kindness  and  interest  in  him  deeply.  Among 
the  many  gifts  of  flowers  he  received,  none 
touched  him  more  than  a  basket  of  roses  from 
a  middle-aged  man  who  would  not  give  his  name, 
but  said  that  he  was  one  of  the  Confederate 
soldiers  that  surrendered  to  him  at  Appomattox. 
That  legislatures  of  different  States,  and  conven- 
tions of  clergymen,  and  army  associations  should 
pass  resolutions  and  send  messages  of  sympathy 
did  not,  doubtless,  surprise  him,  but  the  follow- 
ing message  was  entirely  unexpected : 

ATS-LES-BAINS,  April  8,  1885. 
MRS.  GKANT, 

care  of  General  Grant,  New  York. 
The  Queen,  who  feels  deeply  for  you  in  your  anxie- 
ties, commands  me  to  inquire  after  General  Grant. 
DOWAGER  MARCHIONESS  OF  ELY 

This  expression  of  sympathy  from  the  Queen 
of  England  did  honor  to  her  heart,  and  was  fully 
appreciated  by  General  Grant  and  his  family. 


568  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

The  letters  of  sympathy  from  every  part  of 
the  country  kept  increasing,  and,  though  suffer- 
ing intensely,  he  felt  worried  that  he  was  unable 
to  acknowledge  them  personally,  but  could  only 
say,  "  I  am  grateful  for  the  sympathy  that  has 
been  expressed  for  me ;  not  only  for  that  mani- 
fested by  my  friends,  but  by  those  who  have 
not  hitherto  been  regarded  as  such."  "  Well," 
said  the  doctor,  "  what  parting  word  shall  I  take 
to-night  to  give  to  the  public  for  you  ? "  "  Say," 
feebly  replied  the  sufferer,  "that  I  desire  the 
good- will  of  all,  whether  heretofore  my  friends 
or  not.  Is  that  enough  \  "  "  Yes,"  replied  the 
doctor.  Standing,  as  he  believed,  on  the  brink 
of  the  grave,  his  great  and  forgiving  heart,  like 
that  of  his  Divine  Master,  felt  at  that  solemn 
hour  only  kindness  toward  those  who  had 
wounded  him  deepest.  It  was  touching  to  see 
the  groups  every  day  gather  on  the  sidewalks  in 
front  of  the  house  and  gaze  silently  up  at  the 
unoccupied  windows,  mutely  interrogating  them 
of  the  condition  of  the  dying  hero  within.  The 
crowd  would  at  times  be  so  great  that  the  police 
would  have  to  interfere  in  order  to  keep  the 
sidewalks  open  to  those  passing  by. 

During  the  fore  part  of  April  he  steadily  im- 
proved and  became  cheerful,  so  that  his  birth- 
day, which  they  never  expected  he  would  see 
again,  and  which  occurred  on  the  17th  of  this 


GENERAL    GRANT'S   REPLY.  569 

month,  was  a  pleasant,  joyous  one.  Congratu- 
lations and  messages  kept  pouring  in  on  him, 
and  friends  called,  many  of  whom  he  was  able 
to  see  and  converse  with. 

"  The  perfume  of  flowers  filled  his  home  from 
early  morning.  Many  callers  left  them  with 
their  cards,  while  messengers  and  expressmen, 
similarly  laden,  kept  the  bell  ringing  of  ten  until 
well  into  the  afternoon.  There  were  flowers  in 
profusion  for  every  room.  The  parlor  floor  was 
rich  with  their  color,  and  up-stairs  they  rested 
in  every  available  space.  Callers  besieged  the 
house  until  late.  Few  saw  the  General,  but  for 
some  he  took  pains  to  come  down-stairs,  while 
a  few  were  invited  to  the  library.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Newman  and  Mrs.  Mark  Hopkins,  of  Cali- 
fornia, calling  a  little  before  noon,  were  greeted 
by  the  General  as  he  came  down  prepared  to 
drive.  He  talked  with  them  in  a  very  cheerful 
vein."  In  the  evening  he  sent  out  the  follow- 
ing general  reply  to  the  congratulations  that 
had  kept  pouring  in  all  day : 

To  the  various  army  posts,  societies,  cities,  public 
schools,  States,  corporations,  and  individuals,  North 
and  South,  who  have  been  so  kind  as  to  send  rne  con- 
gratulations on  my  sixty-third  birthday,  I  wish  to  offer 
iny  grateful  acknowledgments.  The  despatches  have 
been  so  numerous  and  so  touching  intone  that  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  answer  them  if  I  had  been  in 
perfect  health,  U.  S. 


570  LIFE    OF   GRANT. 

This  sudden  revival  of  his  energies  enabled 
him  to  resume  work  on  his  memoirs,  which  he 
pushed  with  great  vigor,  often  working  four 
hours  a  day,  and  he  felt  to  his  great  delight  that 
he  should  now  live  to  finish  them. 

The  month  of  April,  with  its  changes,  passed 
away,  leaving  no  material  change  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  invalid,  save  that  it  was  evident  that 
the  disease  was  slowly  encroaching  on  his  vital 


energies. 


But  the  first  warm  weather  in  May  brought 
on  symptoms  of  weakness  that  caused  his  physi- 
cians much  uneasiness.  In  the  middle  of  the 
month  a  little  incident  occurred  which  gave  him 
great  pleasure.  A  book  called  the  "  Grant  Me- 
morial "  had  been  got  up  by  the  soldiers  who 
served  under  him,  and  was  being  published  at 
Cincinnati.  Lieutenant  Holbrook,  of  Boston, 
with  the  publisher,  called  on  the  General  to  pre- 
sent him  with  an  album  containing  the  names 
of  the  first  fifty  subscribers  to  it.  Tears  stood 
in  his  eyes  as  he  received  it,  and  he  said  :  "  Tell 
the  boys  that  they  probably  will  never  look 
into  my  face  again,  nor  hear  my  voice,  but  they 
are  engraved  on  my  heart,  and  I  love  them  as 
my  children.  What  the  good  Lord  has  spared 
me  for  is  more  than  I  can  tell,  but  it  is  perhaps 
to  finish  up  my  book,  which  I  shall  leave  to  the 
'Boys  in  Blue,'  and  in  which  they  cannot  only 


BEHOVED   TO   MT.   McGREGOR.  671 

see  me,  but  follow  me  in  the  acts  in  which  they 
helped  me." 

The  effect  of  the  warm  weather  on  his  gen- 
eral health  determined  the  physicians  to  remove 
him  to  some  mountainous  region  as  soon  as  it 
could  be  done  in  safety.  Many  places  were  pro- 
po^d,  but  as  Mr.  Drexel  offered  him  his  cottage 
on  Mount  McGregor,  near  Saratoga,  for  the 
summer,  it  was  decided  to  go  there.  Although 
he  was  so  feeble  that  it  seemed  a  dangerous  ex- 
periment to  move  him,  it  was  soon  evident  that 
to  stay  in  New  York  was  certain  death,  and  it 
was  therefore  resolved  to  make  the  attempt. 

The  loth  of  June,  the  day  fixed  upon  to  start, 
proved  to  be  a  very  hot  one,  and  though  a  spe- 
cial car  was  provided  for  him  and  all  the  ven- 
tilation possible  secured,  yet  the  ride  up  the 
Hudson  was  a  suffering  one.  Most  of  the  time 
he  sat  facing  the  door  of  the  rear  platform,  gaz- 
ing out  vacantly  on  the  glassy  river.  Once  only, 
as  he  passed  West  Point,  did  he  seem  to  rally, 
but  soon  sank  back  into  his  dozing,  dreamy  state. 

The  ride  up  Mount  McGregor  tired  him  ex- 
ceedingly, and  bad  effects  from  the  great  effort 
he  had  put  forth  were  anticipated,  but  the  next 
morning  found  him  apparently  none  the  worse 
for  his  journey. 

The  effect  of  the  high,  pure  air  acted  like  a 
chavrn  on  him,  and  stimulated  him  so  strongly 


572  LIFE    OF   GBAtft. 

that  on  the  third  day  he  took  a  long  walk.  But 
he  had  overestimated  his  strength,  and  soon 
after  his  return  he  began  to  sink  so  rapidly  that 
he  felt  his  final  hour  had  come,  and  immediately 
wrote  down  some  last  words  to  his  family,  giv- 
ing directions  respecting  matters  after  his  death, 
and  also  a  note  to  his  doctor.  But  it  proved  tc 
be  not  the  action  of  disease,  but  mere  exhaus- 
tion, that  for  a  time  had  aggravated  his  symp- 
toms. 

From  this  time  on  little  change  took  place, 
except  the  ups  and  downs  incident  to  the  dis- 
ease. Sometimes  he  would  be  drawn  in  a  sort 
of  a  chair  on  wheels  along  the  mountain-side,  at 
others  sit  wrapped  up  on  the  piazza  gazing  off 
on  the  wide  stretch  of  landscape  that  spread  out 
below  him,  till,  weary,  he  would  seek  his  own 
room. 

Thus  the  days  passed  monotonously  on,  the 
patient  sufferer  gazing  quietly,  serenely,  into 
the  unknown,  towards  which  he  was  steadily 
drifting.  Groups  would  gather  daily  in  front 
of  the  piazza  to  gaze  on  the  silent  sufferer, 
and  sometimes  he  would  receive  friends,  with 
whom  he  would  converse  on  paper,  his  voice 
being  entirely  gone ;  but  these  interviews  being 
plainly  injurious,  they  were  very  sparingly  al- 
lowed. One  of  the  most  interesting  during 
the  summer  was  with  General  Buckner,  who 


VIEWS   EXPRESSED   TO    GEN.    BUOKNER.      573 

surrendered  to  him  at  Port  Donelson.  They 
were  West  Point  cadets  together,  and  old 
friends,  and  the  ex-Confederate  general  called 
on  him  as  a  friend  to  express  his  sympathy  for 
him  in  his  great  affliction.  On  the  part  of  Gen- 
eral Grant  the  conversation  was  carried  on  with 
pencil  and  paper.  It  was  a  confidential,  friendly 
talk,  not  meant  for  the  public  ear.  Still  General 
Buckner  felt  that  one  sentiment  expressed  by 
him  on  public  matters  should  not  be  lost  to  the 
country : — 

" '  I  have  witnessed  since  my  sickness,'  Gen. 
Grant  wrote,  '  just  what  I  have  wished  to  see 
ever  since  the  war — harmony  and  good  feeling 
between  the  sections.  I  have  always  contended 
that  if  there  had  been  nobody  left  but  the 
soldiers  we  should  have  had  peace  in  a  year. 

and are  the  only  two  that  I  know  of 

who  do  not  seem  to  be  satisfied  on  the  Southern 
side.  We  have  seen  some  on  ours  who  failed 
to  accomplish  as  much  as  they  wished,  or  who 
did  not  get  warmed  up  to  the  fight  until  it  was 
all  over,  who  have  not  had  quite  full  satisfac- 
tion. The  great  majority,  too,  of  those  who  did 
not  go  into  the  war  have  long  since  grown  tired 
of  the  long  controversy.  We  may  now  well 
look  forward  to  a  perpetual  peace  at  home  and 
a  national  strength  that  will  screen  us  against 
any  foreign  complications.  I  believe,  myself, 


574  LIFE   OF   GRAOT. 

that  the  war  was  worth  all  it  cost  us,  fearful  as 
that  was.  Since  it  was  over  I  have  visited 
every  State  in  Europe  and  a  number  in  the  East. 
I  know  as  I  did  not  before  the  value  of  our 
institutions.' 

"  Those,"  said  General  Buckner, "  are  noble  sen- 
timents of  genuine  patriotism,  and  I  think  that 
the  general  public  ought  to  share  with  me  the 
knowledge  that  General  Grant  holds  such  views. 
They  show  that  he  has  only  the  good  of  hia 
country  at  heart  in  the  last  moments  of  his  pa- 
triotic life.  The  names  of  those  which  I  have 
left  blank  are  those  of  ex-Confederates  still 
living,  and  I  don't  feel  at  liberty  to  make  them 
public.  Beyond  this  sentiment  there  was  noth- 
ing whatever  in  the  interview  that  is  of  in- 
terest to  anybody  except  General  Grant  and 
myself." 

Those  are  "  truly  noble  sentiments,"  and  those 
which  he  has  always  held.  The  welfare  of  the 
country,  the  whole  country,  united  in  love  as 
well  as  in  interest,  was  the  wish  that  always 
governed  his  great  and  patriotic  heart. 

General  Grant's  patience  under  suffering,  his 
quiet  submission  to  his  fate,  his  sweet  and  gentle 
spirit,  touched  the  hearts  of  all  those  who 
watched  over  him  and  gathered  around  his  in- 
valid chair.  He  knew  he  must  die ;  he  made 
no  concealment  of  it;  and  he  often  wished  to 


HIS   PATIENCE   UNDER    SUFFERING.          575 

talk  about  bis  death,  and  give  directions  as  to 
what  should  be  done  after  he  was  gone.  But 
his  family  refused  to  talk  with  him  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  broke  down  so  completely  when  he 
referred  to  it,  that  he  at  length  gave  it  up,  and 
communed  only  with  his  God  on  the  solemn  event. 
But,  on  the  16th  of  July — a  hot  day — he  wrote 
on  a  slip  of  paper  to  Doctor  Douglas :  "  I  feel 
sorry  at  the  prospect  of  living  through  the 
summer  and  fall  in  the  condition  I  am  in.  I  do 
not  think  I  can ;  but  I  may.  But  I  am  losing 
strength."  The  doctor  endeavored  to  cheer  him 
up  by  saying  the  appearance  of  his  throat  was 
very  much  improved.  The  suffering  man,  in 
reply,  wrote  the  following  on  a  slip  of  paper : 

"  After  all  that,  however,  the  disease  is  still  there, 
and  must  be  fatal  in  the  end.  My  life  is  precious,  of 
course,  to  my  family,  and  would  be  to  me  if  I  could 
recover  entirely.  There  never  was  one  more  willing 
to  go  than  I.  I  know  that  most  people  have  first  one 
and  then  another  little  tbing  to  fix  up,  and  never  get 
quite  through.  This  was  partially  my  case.  I  first 
wanted  so  many  days  to  work  on  my  book,  so  the  au- 
thorship would  be  clearly  mine.  It  was  graciously 
granted  to  me  after  being  apparently  much  lower  than 
since,  and  with  a  capacity  to  do  more  work  than  I  ever 
did  in  the  same  time.  My  work  had  been  done  BO 
hastily  that  much  was  left  out,  and  I  did  it  all  over 
from  the  crossing  of  the  James  River,  in  1864,  to 
AppomattoXj  in  1865.  Since  that  I  have  added  as 


676  IIFE  OF   GRANT. 

much  as  fifty  pages  to  the  book,  I  should  think.  There 
is  nothing  more  to  do,  and,  therefore,  I  am  not  likely 
to  be  more  ready  to  go  than  at  this  moment." 

His  hopes  were  to  be  realized  sooner,  perhaps, 
than  he  expected.  The  longing  and  hoping,  the 
weariness  and  pain,  were  almost  over,  and  the 
rest  so  earnestly  prayed  for  near  at  hand.  Al- 
though he  was  steadily  sinking,  it  might  be 
some  time  before  the  end  came;  but  it  was 
evident  that  the  least  over-exertion  or  unfavor- 
able incident  would  precipitate  it.  This  came 
July  20th,  in  an  effort  he  made  to  reach  a  point 
on  the  mountain  from  which  a  magnificent 
view  could  be  had.  Some  of  the  family  had 
visited  it,  and,  excited  by  their  descriptions,  he 
resolved  to  be  drawn  there  himself.  The  doctor 
objected,  fearing  the  result;  but  finding  the 
General  so  very  anxious  about  it,  he  finally  gave 
his  consent. 

The  trip  was  too  exhausting,  and  by  the  time 
he  reached  the  desired  point  he  was  suffering  too 
much  to  enjoy  the  view,  and  wished  to  be  taken 
immediately  back.  The  next  day  his  condition 
confirmed  the  doctor's  fears,  and  it  was  evident 
the  effort  had  produced  a  crisis  through  which 
he  could  not  safely  pass,  and  he  sank  ra-pidly 
away.  But  by  the  use  of  stimulants  he  was 
kept  alive  till  the  23d.  His  death  was  expected 
on  the  preceding  night,  but  having  passed  mid- 


HIS   DEATH.  577 

night  safely  it  was  thought  he  might  survive  the 
day,  and  some  of  the  family  and  others  were 
out  of  doors  getting  the  fresh  air  when  the  nurse 
saw  a  change  suddenly  pass  over  his  face  and 
hurriedly  summoned  all  to  return.  As  they 
gathered  round  his  bed  it  was  evident  that  the 
final  hour  had  come.  His  son  sat  by  his  pillow, 
his  wife  held  one  hand,  the  rest  stood  around, 
a  silent,  sorrowful  group,  and  gazed  on  the  un- 
conscious sufferer  as,  without  a  struggle,  he  sank 
quietly  into  the  arms  of  death.  It  was  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  when  he  breathed  his 

o 

last.  The  news  was  instantaneously  telegraphed 
over  the  country,  sending  mourning  and  sadness 
into  every  hamlet  of  the  land.  Messages  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  bereaved  family  at  once  came 
pouring  in.  From  the  President  down,  through 
governors  and  legislatures  and  distinguished 
men  of  the  nation,  telegraphic  despatches  were 
received ;  and  at  last  one  came  from  the  Queen 
of  England,  and  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales, 
to  the  crushed,  sorrow-stricken  wife.  The  land 
was  draped  in  mourning,  and  all  hearts  felt  that 
a  great  soldier  and  patriot  had  fallen. 

After  much  discussion  as  to  what  spot  should 
be  honored  with  his  remains,  the  family  resolved 
to  accept  the  offer  of  the  city  of  New  York  and 
bury  him  in  Riverside  Park,  on  a  promontory 
overlooking  for  a  long  distance  the  Hudson 


578  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

River.  His  body  was  embalmed,  and  lay 
guarded  by  soldiers  till  August  4th,  when  the 
funeral  ceremonies  took  place,  Dr.  Newman 
preaching  the  funeral  sermon.  The  next  day, 
to  the  sound  of  tolling  bells  and  minute  guns, 
the  body  was  conveyed  by  rail  to  Albany, 
and  placed  in  the  Capitol,  where  it  lay  in  state 
till  the  next  day,  visited  by  tens  of  thousands 
of  people. 

In  connection  with  the  funeral  services  of 
this  day,  memorial  services,  conducted  by  Dean 
Farrar,  were  held  at  the  same  hour  in  Westmin- 
ster Abbey,  London,  which  was  crowded  not 
only  with  American  residents  abroad,  but  at- 
tended by  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  England.  No  such  honors  had  ever  before 
been  rendered  to  an  American,  and  showed  more 
than  anything  else  the  high  estimation  felt  for 
him  abroad. 

On  Wednesday,  amid  the  booming  of  minute 
guns,  the  body  was  transported  to  the  Hudson 
River  cars,  which  started  for  New  York.  The 
train,  draped  its  entire  length  in  black,  passed 
down  the  bank  of  the  river,  the  track  lined 
almost  the  entire  distance  with  crowds  standing 
with  uncovered  heads  as  it  passed.  Reaching 
New  York,  the  coffin  was  placed  in  the  City 
Hall,  and  the  people  thronged  in  myriads  to 
take  a  last  look  at  the  great  captain. 


FUNERAL   AT   MT.    MoGREGOR.  579 

The  funeral  at  Mount  McGregor  was  a  pri- 
vate one ;  that  on  Saturday  was  the  public  one, 
under  the  charge  of  the  Government.  In  con- 
formity with  Mrs.  Grant's  wishes,  the  President 
appointed  two  ex-Confederate  generals  as  pall- 
bearers. IS'o  more  beautiful  tribute  could  be 
paid  to  the  dead  General  than  this.  It  was  the 
controlling  desire  of  his  heart  that  the  Union 
which  be  had  saved  should  be  one  in  feeling  and 
affection,  and  if  his  spirit  could  look  down  on 
earthly  things,  it  would  have  rejoiced  to  see  the 
men  he  bad  met  and  overthrown  on  the  field  of 
battle  bending  in  sorrow  over  his  tomb.  His 
death,  like  his  life,  cemented  that  Union  he 
loved  so  well. 

During  the  few  days  the  body  lay  in  state  in 
the  City  Hall,  it  was  estimated  that  a  quarter  of 
a  million  viewed  it.  It  was  a  constant  stream 
of  people.  Saturday,  the  day  of  the  funeral, 
dawned  bright  and  beautiful,  and  the  hosts 
gathering  to  accompany  the  dead  chieftain  to 
bis  last  resting-place  assembled  at  the  City  Hall. 
At  length  the  catafalque,  draped  in  black  and 
drawn  by  twenty-four  black  horses,  started  up 
Broadway,  soldiers  and  citizens  falling  in  line, 
and  passed  through  long  lanes  of  human  beings 
standing  silently  with  uncovered  heads  as  it 
moved  slowly  onto  the  mournful  "Dead  March." 
It  was  an  impressive  spectacle,  and  as  the  line 


580  LIFE   OF   GRANT. 

moved  slowly  northward  it  seemed  intenmn- 
able.  It  reached  nearly  nine  miles,  composed 
of  soldiers,  the  President  and  Cabinet,  members 
of  Congress  and  Legislature,  and  distinguished 
citizens  and  men  of  all  occupations. 

But  the  most  impressive  sight  of  all  was  that 
of  General  Johnston,  his  old  enemy  on  the 
battle-field,  with  Buckner  and  Sheridan,  and 
General  Lee,  who  so  often  had  flung  himself  on 
General  Grant's  firm-set  ranks;  and,  last,  the 
Virginia  troops,  clad  in  their  old  Confederate 
gray,  and  carrying  their  old  hostile  flag,  riddled 
with  Union  bullets,  now  draped  in  mourning — 
following  sadly  their  great  conqueror  to  his 
tomb. 

It  was  nearly  five  o'clock  when  the  grave  was 
reached,  and  the  sun  was  stooping  to  the  west- 
ern horizon  as  they  silently,  sadly  laid  him  in 
it.  Then  "  Put  out  the  lights,"  the  last  strains 
that  tell  the  army  the  day's  work  is  over  and 
the  time  for  retiring  has  come,  was  played. 
The  guns  from  the  fleet  lying  off  shore  on  the 
Hudson  fired  a  farewell  salute  that  echoed 
mournfully  away  over  the  water,  and  the  scene 
was  ended,  and  the  old  hero  "  left  alone  in  his 
glory." 

The  plain  history  of  his  career,  so  dramati- 
cally ended,  is  stranger  that  any  romance.  A 
poor  Western  boy,  taught  in  a  district  school, 


IMPOSING   PAGEANT   IN   NEW   YORK.         581 

he  is  afterward  sent  to  West  Point,  and,  after 
an  indifferent  course,  enters  the  army.  Retir- 
ing from  it  early,  he  becomes  an  unsuccessful 
farmer ;  then  a  sort  of  clerk  in  a  tannery.  At 
length,  the  war  breaking  out,  he  enters  the  army 
as  a  volunteer,  and  rising  step  by  step,  becomes 
its  commander-in-chief.  Bringing  that  war  to 
a  successful  issue,  he  is  made  President  of  the 
United  States  ;  is  received  as  a  monarch  in  the 
Eastern  world  ;  dies  in  comparative  poverty ; 
and  is  then  laid  in  his  grave  with  the  pomp 
and  pageantry  of  an  Emperor,  and  with  a 
nation's  tears  raining  on  his  grave. 

HIS   CHARACTER. 

The  main  points  in  General  Grant's  character 
are  clearly  brought  out  in  the  life  we  have  been 
tracing,  not  only  those  of  the  great  soldier,  but 
as  a  statesman  and  private  citizen.  No  man 
has  ever  been  presented  to  the  view  of  the  public 
in  circumstances  and  conditions  so  varied,  and 
hence  so  well  calculated  to  develop  the  char- 
acter in  every  respect,  as  he.  As  a  great  soldier 
leading  our  armies  to  victory,  he  first  attracts 
the  eyes  of  the  world.  His  courage,  though 
lofty  and  steadfast,  was  not  of  that  fiery,  chiv- 
alric  kind  which  dazzles  the  public.  He  was 
not  borne  up  in  action  by  the  enthusiasm  and 
pride  of  the  warrior ;  but  apparently  uncon- 


582  LIFE   OF    GRANT. 

scious  of  danger,  made  battle  a  business  which 
was  to  be  performed  with  a  clear  head  and 
steady  nerves.  His  coolness  in  deadly  peril 
was  wonderful.  What  we  once  said  of  Marshal 
Ney  applies  forcibly  to  him.  "  In  battle  he 
could  literally  shut  up  his  mind  to  the  one  ob- 
ject he  had  in  view.  The  overthrow  of  the 
enemy  absorbed  every  thought  within  him,  and 
he  had  none  to  give  to  danger  or  death.  Where 
he  placed  his  mind  he  held  it,  and  not  all  the 
uproar  and  confusion  of  battle  could  divert  it. 
He  would  not  allow  himself  to  see  anything 
else  than  the  one  object  in  view,  and  hence  was 
almost  as  insensible  to  the  dangers  around  him 
as  a  deaf  und  dumb  and  blind  man  would  be. 
He  himself  once  expressed  the  true  secret  of  his 
calmness,  when,  after  one  of  those  exhibitions 
of  composure  amid  the  most  horrid  carnage,  an 
officer  asked  him  if  he  never  felt  fear,  he  re- 
plied :  '  I  never  had  time?  This  was  another 
way  of  saying  that  fear  and  danger  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  object  before  him,  and  there- 
fore he  would  not  suffer  his  mind  to  rest  on 
them  for  a  single  moment."  This  wondei-ful 
power  of  concentrating  all  his  faculties  on  a 
given  point  was  strikingly  characteristic  of 
Grant.  In  tenacity  of  will,  also,  he  was  like 
Ney,  wlio  would  not  be  beaten  ;  and  in  the  last 
extremity  rallied  like  a  dying  man  for  a  final 


HIS   CHARACTER.  583 

blow,  and  then  planted  it  where  the  clearest 
practical  wisdom  indicated.  Like  Ney,  too,  he 
was  naturally  of  a  sluggish,  indolent  nature, 
which  requires  great  crises  to  thoroughly  arouse. 
We  cannot  better  express  our  views  of  this 
last  peculiarity  of  Grant,  than  by  repeating 
what  we  once  before  said  of  him.  There  are 
some  men  in  this  world  possessing  immense 
mental  power,  who  yet,  from  mere  inertness, 
pass  through  life  with  poor  success.  Lighter 
natures  outstrip  them  in  the  race  for  wealth  or 
position,  and  the  strength  they  really  possess  is 
never  known,  because  it  has  never  been  called 
out.  It  never  is  called  out  by  ordinary  events. 
They  were  made  for  great  emergencies,  and  if 
these  do  not  arise,  they  seem  almost  made  in 
vain ;  at  least  these  extraordinary  powers  appear 
to  be  given  them  in  vain.  Grant  was  one  of 
these.  He  was  like  a  great  wheel,  on  which 
mere  rills  of  water  may  drop  forever  without 
moving  it,  or  if  they  succeed  in  disturbing  its 
equilibrium,  only  make  it  accomplish  a  partial 
revolution.  It  needs  an  immense  body  of  water 
to  make  it  roll,  and  then  it  revolves  with  a 
power  and  majesty  that  awe  the  beholder.  No 
slight  obstructions  then  can  arrest  its  mighty 
sweep.  Acquiring  momentum  with  each  revo- 
lution, it  crushes  to  atoms  everything  thrust 
before  it  to  check  its  motion. 


584  LIFE    OF    GRANT. 

One  would  naturally  think  that  such  a  char- 
acter would  pay  but  little  attention  to  mere 
detail,  contenting  itself  with  general  instruc- 
tions and  movements.  But  this  was  not  so 
with  Grant.  When  once  awaked  to  action,  his 
whole  being  was  alive,  and  he  wanted  to  be 
omnipresent.  Thus,  in  the  campaign  of  Vicks- 
burg,  he  was  constantly  performing  the  duties 
of  subordinates,  fearing  that  unless  he  person- 
ally superintended  everything  his  plans  would 
miscarry.  Nothing  escaped  his  memory  or 
inspection.  Hence,  he  was  often  on  the  picket 
line  all  alone,  endeavoring  to  ascertain,  from 
personal  inspection,  more  of  the  enemy's  position 
and  plans  than  he  could  obtain  from  the  reports 
of  his  officers.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he 
came  near  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
It  was  at  Chattanooga,  while  he  was  preparing 
for  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge.  Wishing 
to  get  a  nearer  view  of  the  enemy,  he  often  rode 
out  on  the  picket  line,  and  once  happened  to  be 
on  the  eastern  bank  of  Chattanooga  Creek,  when 
a  party  of  rebel  soldiers  were  drawing  water  on 
the  other  side.  They  wore  blue  coats;  and, 
thinking  they  were  his  own  men,  Grant  asked 
them  to  whose  command  they  belonged.  They 
answered,  "  Longstreet's  corps  ;  "  whereupon 
Grant  called  out :  "  What  are  you  doing  in 
those  coats,  then  ?  "  The  rebels  replied  :  "  Oh  ! 


HIS    CHARACTER.  585 

all  our  corps  wear  blue."  This  was  a  fact 
which  Grant  had  forgotten.  The  rebels  then 
scrambled  up  on  their  side  of  the  stream,  little 
thinking  that  they  had  been  talking  with  the 
commander  of  the  national  army. 

Another  striking  peculiarity  of  Grant  was  his 
correctness  of  judgment  under  adverse  circum- 
stances and  conflicting  views.  Sherman  once 
told  him  that  he  thought  he  would  fail  in 
"  grand  strategy,"  but  he  found  that  his  strong 
common  sense  supplied  the  place  of  the  study 
of  this  science.  This  is  but  another  way  of  say- 
ing that  Grant's  judgment  was  so  correct  that 
he  seldom  failed  to  do  the  right  thing  under 
whatever  new  circumstances  he  was  placed. 
His  confidence  in  this  judgment  was  wonderful 
—not  the  confidence  of  self-conceit,  but  of  con- 
scious power.  He  never  hesitated  to  assume 
any  responsibility.  In  his  final  campaign  against 
Vicksburg  he  acted  against  the  advice  of  every 
officer  whom  he  consulted,  and  against  the  known 
views  of  the  General-in-Chief  and  the  President. 
Not  only  was  it  conceived  by  himself  alone,  but 
in  carrying  it  to  its  successful  termination  he 
never  called  a  council  of  war. 

The  victories  he  won  are  evidence  to  the 
whole  world  of  his  great  ability  as  a  military 
leader ;  but  he  also  showed  a  remarkable  power 
in  one  respect  that  has  hardly  been  commented 


586  LIFE   OF   GRAOT. 

upon — the  power  of  handling  large  armies, 
Napoleon  declared  that  not  more  than  one  or 
two  generals  beside  himself  in  all  Europe,  could 
manoeuvre  a  hundred  thousand  men  on  the  field 
of  battle.  Grant  did  more  than  this ;  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  handled  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  on  the  route  from  the  Rapidan  to 
Richmond,  was  more  astonishing  than  the  win- 
ning of  a  great  battle.  The  way  he  swung  it 
from  Spottsylvania  to  the  North  Anna,  without 
having  his  flank  crushed  in,  and  from  thence  to 
the  Pamunkey,  and,  last  of  all,  from  the  Chick- 
ahominy,  for  fifty  miles,  across  the  James,  to 
Petersburg,  right  from  under  the  nose  of  the 
enemy,  and  yet  never  being  attacked,  showed  a 
capacity  in  wielding  enormous  forces  possessed 
by  few  men  in  the  world. 

In  this  change  of  base  to  James  River,  in  the 
presence  of  the  enemy,  he  exhibited  the  skill  of 
a  great  commander  as  much  as  in  any  battle  he 
ever  fought. 

Napoleon  says  a  change  of  base  is  "  the  ablest 
manoeuvre  taught  by  military  art."  This  proof 
of  Grant's  great  ability  is  one  that  cannot  be 
appreciated  by  those  who  never  made  military 
movements  a  study.  Hence  President  Lincoln, 
in  summing  up  Grant's  character,  entirely  over- 
looked the  power  of  combination — the  mental 
breadthj  comprehensiveness,  and  administrative 


HIS   CHABACTE&  587 

power  which  he  possessed,  and  put  foremost  that 
which  was  really  a  subordinate  quality.  He 
says :  "  The  great  thing  about  Grant,  I  take 
it,  is  his  perfect  coolness  and  persistency  of  pur- 
pose. I  judge  he  is  not  easily  excited — which 
is  a  great  element  in  an  officer,  and  he  has  the 
grit  of  a  bull-dog  !  Once  let  him  get  his  teeth 
in,  and  nothing  can  shake  him  off."  Now,  it 
was  unquestionably  true  of  Grant  that  he  pos- 
sessed the  characteristics  here  mentioned.  But 
these  alone  can  never  make  a  great  general. 
Obstinacy  without  the  ability  to  plan  and  con- 
trol, fails  as  often  as  it  succeeds.  So  coolness 
and  self-possession  will  not  avail  unless  con- 
nected with  mental  activity  and  the  power  to 
take  in,  comprehend,  and  mould  the  tossing, 
conflicting  elements  around  him.  Thought  often 
wins  battles  more  than  the  sword. 

But  the  supreme  will,  despotic  authority,  and 
the  relentless  pursuit  of  an  enemy  indispensable 
in  a  great  commander,  disappeared  when  he 
laid  down  the  sword  and  became  Chief  Mag- 
istrate of  the  Union.  Not  a  trace  of  the  mili- 
tary man  remained,  and  his  whole  thoughts 
were  on  peace  arid  the  supremacy  of  law.  To 
the  fotmen  of  former  days  he  held  out  both 
hands  in  token  of  peace,  and  amid  the  clamors 
of  excited  men  and  the  demands  of  vindictive 
passion,  he  remained  unmoved,  and  breathed 


590  tire  OF  GRANT. 

patriot,  an  humble  Christian,  he  yielded  up  his 
spirit  without  a  sigh  into  the  hands  of  his 
Maker.  That  character  will  shine  brighter 
with  time,  and  his  memory  grow  dearer  with 
each  successive  generation. 


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Ingelow's  Poems. 
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Intellectual    Life.      By    Philip   (j. 

Hamerton. 
In  the  Counselor's  House.     By  B. 

Marlitt. 

In  the  Golden  Days.  Edna  Lyall, 
In  the  Schillingscourt.  E.  Mar 

litt. 
It   is   Never  Too  Late   to  Mend 

By  Charles  Reade. 
Ivanhoe.     By  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Jack's  Courtship.     W.  C.  Russell 
Jack  Hinton.     By  Charles  Lever 
Jane   Eyre.     Charlotte   BrontS. 
John  Halifax.     By  Miss  Mulock. 
Joshua.     By  George  Ebers. 
Joseph  Balsamu.     Alex.  Dumas. 
Keats'    Poems.     By  John   Keats. 
Kenilworth.     By  Sir  Walter  Scott 
Kidnapped.     By  R.  L.  Stevenson. 
Kit  and  Kitty.     R.  D.  Blackmore 
Knickerbocker's    History    of    New 

York.     Washington  Irving. 
Kith  and  Kin.     Jessie  FothergilL 
Knight  Errant.     By  Edna   Lyall. 
Koran.     Sale's  Translation. 
Lady  of  the  Lake.     Sir  W.  Scott, 
Lady  with  the  Pubies.  E.  Marlitt. 
Lalla   Rookh.     Thomas  Moor«. 
Last   Days  of  Pompeii.     By   But- 
wer-Lytton. 


HURT'S  HOME  LIBRARY-Continued.     Price  Sl.OO  per  Copy. 


Lamplighter.     Maria  S.  Cummins. 
Last  of  the  Barons.     Bulwer-Lyt- 

ton. 
Last  of  the  Mohicans.     By  James 

Fenimore  Cooper. 
Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel.     By  Sir 

Walter  Scott. 

Lena  Rivers.     Mary  J.  Holmes. 
Life  of  Christ.     By  F.  W.  Farrar. 
Light  of  Asia.     Edwin  Arnold. 
Light  that  Failed,  The.     Rudyard 

Kipling. 

Little  Dorrit.     Charles  Dickens. 
Longfellow's  Poems.      (Early.) 
Lorna  Doone.     R.   D.  Blackmore. 
Louise  de  la  Valliere.    Alexandra 

Dumas. 
Love   Me   Little,    Love   Me   Long. 

By  Charles  Reade. 
Lover  or  Friend.     Rosa  N.  Carey. 
Lowell's  Poems.     (Early.) 
Lucile.     By  Owen  Meredith. 
Macaulay's  Poems. 
Maid  of  Sker.     By  R.   D.  Black- 
more. 
Makers  of  Florence.     By  Mrs.  Oli- 

phant. 
Makers  of  Venice.     By  Mrs.   Oll- 

phant. 

Man  and  Wife.     Wilkie  Collins. 
Man  in  Black.     Stanley  Weyman. 
Man  in  the  Iron  Mask.     By  Alex- 

andre  Dumas. 
Marguerite   de    Valois.     By   Alex- 

andre  Dumas. 

Marmion.     Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Marquis  of  Lossie.     George  Mac- 

donald. 
Martin    Chuzzlewit.      By    Charles 

Dickens. 

Mary  Anerley.     R.  D.  Blackmore. 
Mary  St.  John.     Rosa  N.  Caroy. 
Master  of  Ballantrae.     By  R.   L. 

Stevenson. 
Masterman    Ready .     By    Captain 

Marryat. 

Meadow  Brook.     Mary  J.  Holmes. 
Meditations    of    Marcus    Aurelius. 

Translated  by  George  Long. 
Memoirs  of  a  Physician.     Alexan- 

dre  Dumas. 

Merle's  Crusade.     Rosa  N.  Carey. 
Micah  Clarke.     A.   Conan  Doyle. 
Michael  Strogoff.     Jules   Verne. 
Middlemarch.     By  George  Eliot. 
Midshipman    Easy.      By    Captain 

Marryat. 

Mill  on  the  Floss.     George  Eliot. 
Milton's  Poems. 

Mine  Own  People.     R.  Kipling. 
Molly  Bawn.     "The  Duchess." 
Monastery.      Sir    Walter    Scott. 
Moonstone.     By  Wilkie  Collins. 
Moore's   Poems.     Tbomaa  Moore. 
Mosses   from   an    Old    Manse.     By 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne. 
Mysterious  Island.     Jules  Verne. 
Natural     Law     in     the     Spiritual 

World.     Henry   Drummond. 
Nellie's  Memories.  Rosa  N.  Carey. 
Newcomes.  By  W.  M.  Thackeray. 
Nicholas  Nickleby.  Chas.  Dickens. 
Ninety-Three.     By   Victor   Hugo. 
Not   Like   Other   Girls.     By    Rosa 

N.  Carey. 


No  Name.     By  Wilkie  Collins. 
Odyssey.     Pope's  Translation. 
Old    Curiosity    Shop.     By    Charles 

Dickens. 
Old    Mam'selle's    Secret.     By    H. 

Marlitt. 

Old  Mortality.     Sir  Walter  Scott, 
Old  Myadleton's  Money.     By  Mary 

Cecil    Hay. 

Oliver    Twist.     Charles    Dickens. 
Only   a   Word.     By  George   Ebers. 
Only  the  Governess.     By  Rosa  N. 

Ca  rey. 

On  the  Heights.     B.   Auerbach. 
Origin  of  Spocies.     Chas.  Darwin. 
Other  Worlds  than  Ours.     Richard 

Proctor. 

Our  Bessie.     By  Rosa  N.  Carey. 
Our   Mutual    Friend.     By    Charles 

Dickons. 

Pair  ot  Blue  Eyes.     Thos.  Hardy,, 
Past  and  Present.     Thos.  Carlyle. 
Pathfinder.     James   F.    Cooper. 
Pendennis.     W.  M.  Thackeray. 
Pfve  Goriot.     H.  de  Balzac. 
Peveril  of  the  Peak.     By  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott. 
Phantom    Rickshaw,    The.      Rud- 

yard   Kipling. 
Phra,  The  Phoenician.     By  Edwin 

L.  Arnold. 

Picciola.     By   X.   B.    Saintine. 
Pickwick  Papers.     Chas.  Dickens, 
Pilgrim's  Progress.    John  Bunyan. 
Pillar    of    Fire.     By    Rer.    J.    H. 

Ingraham. 

Pilot,  The.     By  James  F.  Cooper. 
Pioneers.     By  James  F.  Cooper. 
Pirate.     By   Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Plain   Tales   from   the   Hills.     By 

Rudyard  Kipling. 
Poe's  Poorns.     By  Edgar  A.  Poe. 
Pope's  Poems.     Alexander  Pope.  """ 
Prairie.     By  James  F.  Cooper. 
Pride  and  Prejudice.  Jane  Austen, 
Priuce    of    the    House    of    David. 

By   Rev.  J.   H.    Ingraham. 
Princess  of  the  Moor.     E.  Marlitt 
Princess   of  Thule.       Wm.    Black. 
Proctor's     Poems.      By     Adelaide 

Procter. 

Professor.     Charlotte   BrontS. 
Prue  and  I.     By  Geo.  Wm.  Curti* 
Queen     Hortense.      Louisa     Mubl 

bach. 

teenie's  Whim.     Rosa  N.  Carey 
een's  Necklace.     Alex.   Duma* 
entin  Durward.     Walter  Scott, 
dgauntlet.     Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Red  Rover.     By  James  F.  Coope* 
Reign   of  Law.     Duke  of  Argyle 
Reveries    of    a    Bachelor.     By    II 

Marvel.  ) 

Reynard  the  Fox.     Joseph  Jacobs 
Rhoda  Fleming.     By  George  Met 

edith. 

Rienzi.     By  Bulwer-Lytton. 
Robert  Ord's  Atonement.  By  Rosa 

N.   Carey. 

Robinson   Crusoe.     Daniel   Defo«. 
Rob  Roy.     By  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Romance  of  Two  Worlds.       Maria 

Corelli. 

Romola.     By  George  Eliot- 
Eory  O'More.     By  Samuel  Lover* 


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Roesetti's  Poems.     Gabriel  Dante 

Bossettl. 

Royal  Edinburgh.     Mrs.  Oliphant. 
Saint  Michael.     By  E.   Werner. 
Schonberg-Cotta  Family.     By  Mrs. 

Andrew  Charles. 
Sartor  Rcsartus.     Thos.  Carlyle. 
Scarlet    Letter,    The.      Nathaniel 

Hawthorne. 

Schopenhauer's      Essays.      Trans- 
lated by  T.  B.  Saunders. 
Scottish  Chiefs.     By  Jane  Porter. 
Scott's  Poems.     Walter  Scott. 
Search   for   Basil   Lyndhurst.    By 

Rosa  N.  Carey. 
Second  Wife.     By  E.  Marlitt. 
Seekers  after  God.     F.  W.  Farrar. 
Self-Help.     By  Samuel  Smiles. 
Sense    and    Sensibility.     By    Jane 

Austen. 

Sesame  and  Lilies.     John  Ruskin. 
Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture.     By 

John  Ruskin. 

Shadow  of  a  Crime.     Hall  Caine. 
Shelley's  Poems. 
Shirley.     By  Charlotte  Bronte. 
Sign   of   the   Four,    The.     By   A. 

Conan  Doyle. 

Silas  Marner.     By  George  Eliot. 
Silence    of    Dean    Maitland.     By 

Maxwell  Grey. 
Sin  of  Joost   Avelingh.    Maarten 

Maarteus. 

Sir  Gibbie.     George  Macdonald. 
Sketch  Book.     Washington  Irving. 
Social    Departure,    A.     By    Sarah 

Jeannette  Duncan. 
Soldiers  Three.     Rudyard  Kipling. 
Son  of  Hagar.     By  Hall  Caine. 
Springhaven.     R.  D.  Blackmore. 
Spy,  The.     By  James  F.  Cooper. 
Story    of    an    African    Farm.     By 

Olive  Schreiner. 
Story  of  John  G.  Paton.     By  Rey. 

Jas.   Paton. 

Strathmore.     By  "Ouida." 
St.   Ronan's  Well.     Walter  Scott. 
Study  in  Scarlet,  A.     By  A.  Conan 

Doyle. 

Surgeon's  Daughter.     By  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott. 

Swinburne's  Poems. 
Swiss  Family  Robinson.     By  Jean 

Rudolph  Wyss. 

Taking  the  Bastile.    Alex.  Duma*,. 
Tale  of  Two  Cities.      By  Charles 

Dickens. 
•Tales  from  Shakespeare.     Charles 

and   Mary   Lamb. 

Tales  of  a  Traveller.     By  Wash- 
ington Irvine. 

Talisman.     Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Tanglewood  Tales.     By  Nathaniel 

Hawthorne. 
Tempest  and  Sunshine.     By  Mary 

J.   Holmes. 
Ten   Nights  in  a  Bar  Room.     By 

T.  S.   Arthur. 
Tennyson's  Po^ms. 
Ten    Years   Later.     Alex.    Dumas. 
Terrible  Temptation.     By  Charles 

Reade. 
Thaddeus   of    Warsaw.     By   Jane 

Porter. 
Thelma.    By  Marie  Corelli. 


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War.    By  Frederick 


Thirty  Tears' 

Schiller. 
Thousand  Miles  Up  the  Nile.    By 

Amelia  B.  Edwards. 
Three  Guardsmen.     Alex.   Dumas. 
Three  Men  in  a  Boat.     By  J.  K. 

Jerome. 

Thrift.     By  Samuel  Smiles. 
Toilers  of  the  Sea.     Victor  Hugo. 
Tom  Brown  at  Oxford.     By  Thos. 

Hughes. 
Tom    Brown's    School    Days.     By 

Thomas  Hughes. 
Tom  Burke  of  "Ours."     By  Chas. 

Lever. 
Tour    of    the    World    in    Eighty 

Days.     By  Jules  Verne. 
Treasure    Island.      By    R.     Louis 

Stevenson. 
Twenty  Thousand  Leagues  Under 

the  Sea.     By  Jules  Verne. 
Twenty    Years    After.     By    Alex- 

andre  Dumas. 
Twice  Told  Tales.     By  Nathaniel 

Hawthorne. 

Two  Admirals.     J.   F.   Cooper. 
Two  Years  Before  the  Mast.     Bj 

R.  H.  Dana,  Jr. 
Uarda.     By  George  Ebers. 
Uncle  Max.     By  Rosa  N.  Carey. 
Uncle   Tom's   Cabin.     By   Harriet 

Beecher  Stowe. 
Under  Two  Flags.     "Ouida." 
Undine.     De  La  Motte  Fouque. 
Unity    of    Nature.    By    Duke    of 

Argyle. 

Vanity  Fair.     W.  M.  Thackeray. 
Vendetta.     By  Marie  Corelli. 
Vicar    of    Wakefleld.     By    Oliver 

Goldsmith. 
Vicomte  de  Bragelonne.    Alexan- 

dre  Dumas. 

Villette.     By  Charlotte  Bronte". 
Virginians.     W.   M.   Thackeray. 
Water  Babies.     Charles  Kingsley. 
Water  Witch.     James  F.   Cooper. 
Waverley.     By  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Wee  Wifle.     By  Rosa  N.   Carey. 
Westward  Ho!     Charles  Kingsley. 
We  Two.     By  Edna  Lyall. 
What's  Mine's  Mine.     By  George 

Macdonald. 
When  a  Man's  Single.     By  J.  M. 

Barrie. 

White    Company.      By    A.Doyle, 
Whittier's  Poems. 
Wide,    Wide    World.      By    Susao 

Warner. 

Window  in  Thrums.  J.  M.  Barrio. 
Wing  and  Wing.     J.  F.  Cooper. 
Woman  in  Whife.     Wilkie  Collins. 
Won  by  Waiting.     Edna  Lyall. 
Wonder  Book,    A.     For  Boys  and 

Girls.     By  N.   Hawthorne. 
Woodstock.     By  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Wooed  and  Married.     By  Rosa  N. 

Carey. 

Wooing  O't.     By  Mrs.  Alexander. 
Wordsworth's   Poems. 
World  Went  Very  Well  then.    Bj' 

Walter  Besant. 

Wormwood.     By   Marie  Corelli. 
Wreck  of  the  Grosvenor.     By  W.. 

Clark  Russell. 
Seuobia.    By  William  Ware. 


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